An
alternative name could be algesic-auditory synesthesia
Some synesthetes perceive sounds on feeling different types of pain. This appears to be a very uncommon type of synesthesia. It can coexist with other pain-related synesthesias like pain-colour or pain-smell, so there are people who not only see pain visually but hear it as well, and others who hear it and smell it at the same time. The sounds are consistent: the same type of pain triggers the same sound. They have been described as “frequencies”, “buzzing”, “ringing”, “whistling”, “like radio interference”, for example, and the volume seems to increase with the intensity of the pain and can even be heard at a very high volume.
Here are some descriptions written by people with this type of synesthesia:
“If I slam my hand on my desk, it is a low frequency pitch and if I get a papercut it is a high pitch.”
(Source: This post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)
"The sound I hear when I experience pain is very sudden and loud. It is usually high pitched and jarring, but it can also sound like loud thuds, grinding, electrical zapping, and so on depending on the source of the pain.”
(Source: This post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)
"When I was little I used to call it “the echoes” because sharp or burning pain makes an “eeeee” sound while dull or aching pain makes an “ooooo” sound. So when they’re put together (like getting hit by something) it sounds like someone saying “echooo!!!””
(Source: This comment on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)
Related
synesthesia types:
this is me... Is odd how random the sounds are, and I have just started to explore it, so my triggers are still a big ? for me, but this is what I fell on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteEdit: feel not fell ; )
DeleteI don't hear a physical sound from pain. It's more a note in my head, like the way you hear a song in your mind. But it is very consistent, in that a migraine is always the same note, B4. A paper cut is a very high pitch. Muscle aches are lower.
ReplyDeleteI hear a sound like twisting rope or twine with deep pain.
ReplyDeleteI've experienced this phantom noise associated with pain for as long as I can recall from very early childhood and am just now learning what it is. No matter what type of pain, it is always the same exact noise that resonates with the pain sensation itself, like the sound of fingers squeezing a balloon or like the last comment: twisting a large rope; it is a very low pitched intermittent rumble. I can feel the pain (wherever/whatever it may be) as I'm hearing it, and the intensity of the pain dictates the "volume" of the noise. I almost seems like I can also feel the noise in my inner ear as it's happening in time with the original source of pain, like a faint twitching deep inside. The one anomaly that I experience that I haven't seen anyone else mention is: it is always in my left ear much more than my right, and it is only with more intense pain that I hear it in both. I know this perceived noise is not coming from anywhere external, I just may have some wires crossed upstairs, and any time I mention that I experience it to friends/colleagues, they have no idea what I'm talking about. Glad to finally have a definition to this mystery!
ReplyDelete