Usually, when people get tonsil surgeries they can experience soreness or some pain in their throat during the recovery period. However, when 27-year-old Angie Mcyen from Brisbane, Australia, got her tonsils removed in April, she woke up with an Irish accent 8-9 days later, reports Mirror UK.
Chronicling her journey online, she said, “I still can’t believe I woke up with an Irish accent yesterday. I’ve never been to Ireland. I grew up in Australia. My Aussie accent is gone.”
Times Now News quoted her adding,
“I spent the whole day yesterday freaking out about why this is happening to me and I went to the hospital and also called my specialist and asked them why this is happening and they couldn’t provide any answers. They just told me to sit tight and wait for my body to heal after my tonsil surgery last Monday, about 9-10 days ago.”
Turns out, she may be suffering from ‘Foreign Accent Syndrome’ which is a rare condition associated with brain damage. News.com.au quoted speech therapist and language impairment specialist Professor Lyndsey Nickels explaining,
“Foreign accent syndrome is when someone suddenly develops what is perceived to be a foreign accent. This is despite the person having never necessarily having spoken that particular foreign language, never necessarily having spent time abroad, nor having mixed with people with that foreign accent.”
She added,
“Foreign accent syndrome is usually thought to be caused by brain damage (eg from stroke or brain injury following a bump to the head) which causes difficulty with moving or co-ordinating the muscles that we use to produce speech (lips, tongue, voice box, breath). In turn, this means that the speech sounds change.”
Angie will now undergo further tests and consult medical professionals to understand her ailment. She is also sharing videos of her journey to spread awareness about this strange condition so that people stop treating it as a joke.