This page contains all the readers’ comments on the “Tactile-gustatory synesthesia” article, received between 2022 and 2025.
Comment by: Cierra
Lauren Eager. September 11, 2022 at 3:28 AM
Wow. This is
so crazy. Never in my life did I think i would find someone experiencing this
with me, I’ve never been able to find any info on Tactile-Gustatory Synthesia
until now, my dad and my grandmother both had numerical sythesia and I’ve had
this since I was just 3… so wild to see someone else experiencing this. I had a
fit when someone gave me a corduroy bear as a child and it tasted spicy, nobody
understood why I hated it so much
Comment by:
Anonymous. February 12, 2024 at 9:41 PM
I have had
this my whole life and hid it from people. I vaguely heard of synesthesia years
ago but always attributed it to numbers or colors, which isn't my thing. I lead
a fairly normal life, work, family and for the most part, all is good. But if I
am out and see a copper sink or appliance, I immediately get a taste of sweaty
metallic car keys (from the 70's, not the new keys). Likewise, when I taste
whiskey, it tastes like plaid - yes, the fabric. I suspect this is a rare form
of synesthesia.
Comment by:
Anonymous. January 13, 2023 at 4:50 AM
My daughter
just told me she hates cracking her knuckles because it tastes like sour
lemons. I have spatial synesthesia and my dad has a color number one.
Comment by:
Anonymous. April 28, 2023 at 12:52 AM
I love to
forage plants - however when I pick certain plants I get a strong taste of the
plant on my tongue. Without it going anywhere near my mouth. I was shocked to
discover that this isn't a common experience. I thought it was normal 😆
Comment by:
Anonymous. May 4, 2023 at 8:47 PM
Twenty minutes
ago I discovered my 18 month old daughter seems to have it, I was brushing her
hair with a soft bristle brush and she reached out and touched it, her jaw
started going and her tongue was out of her mouth, I noticed it straight away
as I was remembering a documentary i watched a few years ago with people who
have the condition, I offered her some other items to touch and no reaction
from her mouth, I again offered the soft bristle hair brush and the same
reaction, I repeated this several times with other items.... nothing, but the
brush, I am convinced this is what she's feeling/ tasting, she has trisomy 21
"down syndrome " I'll be contacting the down syndrome association
shortly to see if there are others like my daughter out there as this could
potentially offer a better insight into her upbringing.
How this helps
anybody who reads it.
Comment by:
Anonymous. June 19, 2023 at 4:55 AM
OK my
experience was when I was younger and it lasted briefly but would get flashes
of it every now and then in the years to follow (not anymore). It was almost
always experiencing things through taste, but it was in my stomach sensation
and tied to emotions. The best I could describe one reoccurring experience was
the taste of my left hand 'growing'.. it was almost as if I was 'tasting'
density and energy changing. Things around me that were more dense had a 'bass'
like taste sensation and small things like a dot on the wall were high
frequency like nails on a chalkboard and anxiety inducing. It's all so weird to
explain , but i never remember the taste like a specific food thing, it always
just 'tasted'like the thing i was seeing/feeling. If anyone can relate lmk 😄
Comment by:
Anonymous. November 20, 2023 at 9:03 PM
I have been
trying to work out the process where, when I touch certain things, I taste them
on my tongue. Medical enquiries have led nowhere and I was wondering if it is a
type of Synesthesia. These things don’t have a “ smell”, so I don’t believe it
is related.
Reply by: Pau
(The Synesthesia Tree author). November 25, 2023 at 10:29 PM
Hi! I answered
you over on the Do I Have Synesthesia page. I think this would be gustatory
hyperphantasia rather than synesthesia.
Comment by:
Anonymous. December 2, 2023 at 5:47 AM
I disagree.
Gustatory hyperphantasia is linked to tasting things that you can see. I can
taste lemons if I touch lemon juice or taste culinary oils that I use as a
natural alternative to body lotion.
Comment by:
Anonymous. January 24, 2024 at 1:19 AM
Thank you so
much for this page. I cannot believe that I finally found something that sounds
similar to what my father has struggled with his whole adult life. He has said
that since early adulthood, and getting progressively severe, he gets a taste
in his mouth whenever he touches certain things. As he has gotten older, and
as, possibly, dyes and chemical processes have changed, it has gotten worse. He
seems to be able to touch most food-grade plastics (bread bags, some plastic
storage bags, deli plastic etc) but paper products now produce a taste quickly
that is akin to hydrogen peroxide or similar. It used to go away after a good
night sleep but over the last several years, lasts days. Washing his mouth,
immediately washing the point of contact none of it helps. It does seem to be
neurological as his brain knows by looking at many things that he should touch
them. He has struggled with this to the point that he keeps mending his socks,
underwear, clothes etc because often when he touches no clothes, they produce
the taste. He wears food bags when having to handle paper and has his phone and
most other things wrapped in food wrap. He is not a recluse, but close because
of how unpleasant the sensation is when he touches things that produce the
taste. Does anyone know of someone similar? Of course, my big question is how
do I get him his life back? My mother recently passed away and she was the one
that mended items and touched things that he could not and am curious to see if
there is something that we can do to finally get some answers. Of course, he
has done all of the allergy workups, a brain scan all of it. Thoughts? Thanks
again, Kelly. :)
Comment by:
Anonymous. September 20, 2024 at 8:19 PM
I hate
touching velvet because it tastes like rot. I don't understand why but motor
oil tastes sweet
Comment by:
Anonymous. July 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
When I was a
child, if I felt a sudden sharp pain (getting my finger pinched in a drawer,
stubbing my toe, etc.) I would get a fairly brief but quite distinct metallic
taste in my mouth, as if I was tasting a penny. Maybe this association was made
because of the taste of blood, but I would experience it even when the pain
wasn't in my mouth or if it drew blood. I don't think this quite raises to the
level of making me a true synesthete since it was only this one sensation and I
seem to have grown out of it; but then again, it's not something I have much
interest in actually testing out. The sensation was strong enough that I still
remember it clearly.
Go back to the page on tactile-gustatory and tactile-olfactory synesthesia
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