frequently-asked questions about synesthesia This is a "FAQ-in-progress" I began in order to answer questions I often receive regarding synesthesia.  I have not yet addressed these points on other pages in this site.  Please if you think anything should be added or changed. How does idiopathic synesthesia come about? Synesthesia is something a person is born with, to any low/high degree (associating versus projecting, etc.) and varied degree (chromalogia vs. morphochronia, etc.).  When a person is born, he may on one hand automatically perceive colored sounds, or he may on the other hand have the capacity to develop synesthetically-colored graphemes. How common is synesthesia? At least half, if not most, of the human population is synesthetic to some degree.  To my knowledge, there have been no accurate studies done to this date.  If you have read somewhere that the ratio of synes to non-synes is something like 1:200, 1:2,000, 1:25,000, or anything similar, you must understand that the figure given is most likely based on... well, keep reading this page; more info related to this is further down the page. Can I catch synesthesia? No.  Synesthesia is not a virus or bacterial disease and thus cannot be transmitted between people.  Instead, synesthesia is a neurological condition, much in the same way that seeing a tree and then remembering what the tree looks like in your mind's eye is a "neurological condition". Can synesthesia be turned on and off? Because idiopathic synesthesia is a hardwired function of the brain, it cannot be turned on and off naturally, just as one's sense of sight cannot be turned on and off naturally. I have heard, though, that taking LSD can cause synesthesia. Acquired synesthesia, which is not idiopathic synesthesia, can be caused by the brain being physically and chemically altered by certain drugs which therefore have the potential to cause synesthesia in some (but not all) cases. Can anything cause synesthesia to weaken or stop? It is unknown at this point.  I would appreciate it, though, if synesthetes would contact me if they have ingested or inhaled any substance that they believe has caused a loss or alteration of their synesthesia in any way. Do synesthetic perceptions change over time? They can.  In most cases, changes in and additions to synesthetic perceptions are caused by associative learning. Is synesthesia a disability?  Do synesthetes themselves find it to be a disabling condition? Synesthesia is generally not seen by synesthetes or non-synesthetes as a disabling condition. There are circumstances when it can be for some people (e.g. such as feeling nauseus when hearing windchimes), but it is more common for synesthetes to report their synesthesiae as pleasant (e.g. seeing blue when C is played on the piano).  Of course, each person usually considers their synesthetic perceptions normal.  For these reasons, most synesthetes would not want to part with their synesthetic perceptions. Is synesthesia genetic? The answer depends on what you mean by "genetic".  It is also important to understand that perhaps more than half the human population has some form of synesthesia, and further that synesthesia itself is a blanket term for many varieties of "mixed senses". For instance, a man may have soundsight synesthesia.  His child may or may not inherit the predisposition that would allow her to have "mixed senses", i.e., the brain structure and chemistry that is necessary in order to have any of the various possible types of synesthesia.  And, if she does have synesthesia, it is very commonly the case that she may have an entirely different type of synesthesia than he, such as timeshape. If by "genetic" you broadly mean that children will inherit "synesthesia" from their parent(s) through a specific gene on a specific chromosome, then this has absolutely not been proven.  (Note also that there are synesthetes who claim their parents, siblings, and other relatives have no forms of synesthesia, although I believe these accounts are questionable.) I've heard synesthetes are typically females, homosexuals or bisexuals, left-handed or ambidexterous, bad at mathematics and navigation, and above average/high in intelligence.  Is this accurate? Some claims are so oft-used that many people who are just learning about synesthesia are regarding them as facts.  I did at first, when initially the only information I had on-hand was old and very thoroughly unresearched.  For instance, from very non-inclusive surface research, it looks as though there are more female synesthetes than males.  This could be due to self-misreporting (less likely), subject-sampling errors and/or non-reporting (more likely), or questioning errors (more likely).  Again, most humans have synesthesia to some degree.  So saying most synesthetes are female homosexual geniuses who can't add or find their way out of a paper bag (for example :) is likely just a personal desire of the individual who is reporting. Is synesthesia related to [insert random genetic/psychological disorder/disease/infection]? I seriously doubt it.  Synesthesia is merely natural, multisensory perception; it is not a viral or bacterial infection, it is not a disease, and it is not usually considered a brain malfunction. If you are looking for information on, for example, ADD/ADHD, please see the following links:      — http://www.wildestcolts.com/mentalhealth/stimulants.html      — http://www.ilanamercer.com/JS4.htm      — http://www.adhdfraud.com/      — http://adhdparentssupportgroup.homestead.com/50conditionsmimicingADHD.html I hear voices talking to me.  Do I have synesthesia? No, this is not synesthesia at all.  If you hear voices in your head (apart from your own singular conscience), then this could be a positive symptom of a disorder such as schizophrenia that may need medical attention, and I would encourage you to talk to a medical practitioner about your voices. For further information on schizophrenia, please see the following link:      — http://www.schizophrenia.com/newsletter/buckets/intro.html Can my doctor diagnose me with synesthesia? The short answer:  No.  And it would be much, much easier for you to make a self-diagnosis instead. The long, multi-part answer: 1. You doctor may or may not know synesthesia even exists. 2. But, after you convince him it's important enough to you to have a medical diagnosis, he may give you the contact information of one or more specialists who work at hospitals or universities.  You can schedule one or more appointments at these locations which hopefully have neurology research specialists working at them who know what different types of synesthesia can exist and therefore know what to look for.  (But don't necessarily count on it.) 3. You will need to pay the specialist's tech(s) yea many thousands of dollars to run fMRI scans on you, and perhaps PET scans as well. 4. You will then need to pay the specialist yea many more thousands of dollars so he can interpret and report the data the tech(s) collected from you.  You can then know with great vagueness what you surely know in much more detail already. Are you just making this up for attention? No.  Naturally, there will always be an occasional whackjob who will claim to have this or that rare "special gift", condition, or disorder so as to gain attention from others.  I do have synesthesia and did not create this website for attention.  In fact, the vast majority of people with synesthesia who do not know it is a natural, real condition, do not talk about what they have until they find out it is such.