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10 Disadvantages to Synesthesia
M. SYNESTHI & NIC SWANER SEPTEMBER 2, 20 12

Synesthesia is generally thought of as a perceptual condition that enhances the experiences of day to day lif e. For the most part this is true, and many, if not all synesthetes, wouldnt part with their synthetic experiences to begin with. That does not mean that there arent downsides to the condition. Synesthesia is unusual in that it manif ests the individual and will of tentimes show no ef f ect on the outside world, unlike other psychological conditions where the ef f ects are obvious to others around the individual. This can result in discouraging and patronizing reactions to the person af f ected. When experiencing strong enough stimulation, synesthesia can also become troublesome and even dangerous. As the list will come to show, synesthesia is not all it is rumored to be. This article was co-written by M. Synesthi and Nic Swaner and is largely based on experience on M. Synesthis part (items 10-6, 4-1), as well as some experience f rom Nic Swaner (items 7, 2-1), and research done on account of both of the authors (item 5).

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To a synesthete who can never recall a lif e without their synesthesia, descriptions of colored voices or angry numbers are all too natural. To non-synesthetes, however, this can seem extremely strange or overwhelming. Due to this, when someone f irst learns that they have synesthesia and are eager to share their perceptions with others they can be met with conf usion and even disbelief f rom the people closest to them. Synesthetes who do not have the support of their f riends and f amily can be lef t f eeling alienated or even a little bit crazy, assuming that their perceptions of the world are invalid. Additionally, synesthetes who were ridiculed as a child f or their craziness may f eel nervous and unwilling to explain themselves, losing critical chances to enrich the world around them.

Ridicule

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In addition to having to explain their synesthesia to f riends and f amily a synesthete might also experience ridicule at the hands of their peers. Children without synesthesia will of ten f ind a synesthetes descriptions of their experiences to be strange or threatening and react through shunning or criticism. This of ten occurs early in a synesthetes childhood when they comment upon their synthetic experiences in the belief that everyone shares them, and are then lef t startled and conf used to learn that they are the only one with such experiences.

Personal Bias

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Just like a non-synesthete who naturally pref ers one color over the rest, so does a synesthete with some of their experiences. To those with grapheme synesthesia certain letters or numbers may be pretty or soothing while others are ugly. To a person with OLP (Ordinal Linguistic Personif ication) synesthesia, this extends to the personality of the letters. A might be f riendly, f or example, while D is sullen and rude. To a synesthete, this is simply how the letters are, and they make their pref erences accordingly. While this sort of pref erence is of ten benign, it at times becomes obvious or challenging. When meeting new people, a person with sound-color synesthesia may be naturally drawn to someone with a pretty voice, while avoiding those whose voices are sharp or glaring. This isnt a judgment on the people surrounding them, but it can limit who they interact with and make social situations or conversations uncomf ortable.

Stereotypes
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Stereotypes

A synesthete will eventually encounter stereotypes assigned to them when surrounded by people who are aware of the condition. They might be asked what their synesthesia is by a curious yet seemingly investigative acquaintance, with the implication being that they have one type, when many have numerous f orms of synesthesia. Some stereotypes that continue to be perpetuated by the internet and the media are that synesthetes are inherently creative and artistic due to their synthetic gif ts; that synesthetes are lef t-handed; and that they are bad at math. Richard Cytowic, a leading researcher on synesthesia has disproven the f irst of these myths, citing that the estimated percentage of synesthetes in the US population is proportional to the percentage of synesthetes who are prof essional artists. There is also no evidence that synesthetes are predominantly lef t-handed. The last stereotype contains some truth in it, but has been applied f rom one f orm of synesthesia to all. It is discussed below.

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Math Abilities

One common stereotype (as mentioned in the last section) is that synesthetes are bad at math. While synesthetes range in mathematical ability just as non-synesthetes do, individuals with certain types of synesthesia may have to view the mathematical processes a little dif f erently. For an individual with OLP synesthesia, f or instance, math can be at times uncomf ortable. The act of adding a mean number to a nice number may cause a level of anxiety, because the synesthete does not want to expose the nice number to the meanness of the other number in the problem. Another common situation regarding synesthesia and math is the plight of a person with grapheme synesthesia, who views each number as having its own color. This person can know, quite logically, that 2 + 3 = 5. However, to them, this could look like pink + light blue = red. If they have any experience with color theory, they realize that red is a primary color, and theref ore cannot be created out of two secondary colors. In order to solve this addition problem, the synesthete must either disregard their colors temporarily, or struggle to handle the situation they f ind themselves in.
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Object Perception

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In mirror-touch synesthesia, a person observing someone else being touched will f eel the sensation of being touched in the same area. In the case of vision-touch synesthesia, a visual stimulus is perceived as a particular touch which can occur and be f elt on dif f erent parts on the body. Both are normally not a problem f or the synesthete, but upon approaching large, tall, deep or wide objects (such as a large animal or a lake), those that have the latter f orm of synesthesia may react badly due to how they f eel the object. Most vision-touch synesthetes report a f alling sensation and some have even described a reaction akin to the f ight or f light response. The same responses have also been reported with minuscule objects. This may be because vision-touch synesthetes can sense or f eel the scale of an object.

Musical Abilities

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Synesthetes, just like non-synesthetes, have dif f erent levels of musical ability. However, f or people with sound-color synesthesia, their musical abilities may be counteracted by their synthetic experiences. A person with sound-color synesthesia (sometimes called colored hearing) will see a sound as the presence of a color whenever they hear the sound. While this experience can be pleasant at times, it may make it dif f icult f or the musician to see their music, and they may f ind themselves relying on their memory more then their nonsynesthetic peers. Additionally, perf orming in a group ensemble may be dif f icult at times. Some synesthetes with colored hearing may hear everyones voice as having a unique color. If this individual is part of a choir, they could f ind themselves overwhelmed by their perceptions when everyone is singing together, experiencing symptoms of sensory overload such as headaches or nausea.

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Visual Obstruction

To a synesthete with sound-color synesthesia, every sound has its own color, and of ten louder sounds will dominate the visual f ield. An individual with sound-color synesthesia will usually be unaf f ected by the extra colors, as their whole lif e has been spent in this manner. However, in situations with extreme or unexpected noise they may f ind themselves overwhelmed. Fire drills are an excellent example. To non-synesthetes, the noise of the f ire alarm is loud and annoying, but does not change anything about his or her visual f ield. To a synesthete with sound-color synesthesia, this loud, unending sound obscures part, if not all, of their
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vision. This can be especially dif f icult when trying to exit the building during the drill, as the synesthete may bump objects or trip on objects on the f loor.

Life Changes

Synesthesia doesnt necessarily stick around f or everyone; many who have it experience a gradual f ade ef f ect where their synthetic experiences become weaker in intensity over time. A melody that appeared vividly as bright yellow years ago now would be hardly experienced at all later on. Occasionally, people who have had synesthesia throughout their childhood may f ind that it dramatically changes during their teenage
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years. The reason f or this is not entirely understood, but it has been reported that several synesthetes f ind that their synesthesia becomes stronger or vivider. This can be conf using f or the synesthete, who typically does not anticipate such change.

Illness

As anyone who has experienced a high f ever bef ore knows, an elevated body temperature may cause an altered perception of reality. Synesthetes who attempt to perf orm daily activities while f everish may f ind that their synesthesia is stronger or weaker, or perhaps just looks of f . This goes back to normal af ter the body temperature returns to normal. Ear inf ections of ten present additional challenges with sound-color synesthesia. A bad ear inf ection makes it more dif f icult to hear what is happening in the world, causing the
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af f ected person to f eel somewhat deaf ened. A synesthete with sound-color synesthesia and an ear inf ection will not only lose their hearing temporarily, but will also have their colors altered f or the duration of the inf ection. As mentioned bef ore, some synesthetes f ind that their synesthesia gradually weakens with time. It is very uncommon to lose your synesthesia overnight. However, a synesthete suf f ering f rom depression may f ind that their synesthesia temporarily leaves. The reason f or this is not known, but to the synesthete, this is another traumatic lif e event to add to the pre-existing depression, of ten prolonging or enhancing the depression and extending the period without the synesthesia. When synesthesia is reported by individuals who dont normally experience it or inherit it genetically, this can be an indicator of brain damage, the onset or af teref f ects of a stroke or seizure, and, if applicable, as a result of the brain healing af ter the removal of tissue, such as a brain tumor. Since synesthesia is a condition that exists within the brain, it is understandable that a traumatic brain injury such as a concussion may temporarily af f ect a synesthete in that way as well. A concussed synesthete may f ind themselves more sensitive to sounds, or have problems blocking out excessive colors in their reading or writing activities. As with general conf usion f ollowing a concussion in a non-synesthete, these symptoms will typically lessen over time.

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