A woman who sees colours, textures and shapes when she hears sounds PAINTS her experiences – and says Harry Styles’ voice looks like emerald green speckles of magic.

Sarah Kraning, 30, has experienced visuals with sounds for as long as she can remember but was only diagnosed with synesthesia aged 22.

Sound-to-colour synesthesia is a rare condition where sound evokes an experience of colour, shape or movement.

Sarah struggled growing up with the distractions of her condition and was tested for ADHD and autism before a lesson on synesthesia led her to her diagnosis in 2015.

Her visuals come to her automatically like a "sense"

but can be overstimulating and Sarah sometimes has to wear ear buds or remove herself from a situation.

For Sarah, ocean waves look like silver threads crisscrossing and Kate Bush’s voice looks like a thick ribbon of bubble gum.

She says Harry Styles’ speaking voice sounds like emerald green speckles of magic.

Sarah uses the visuals she gets from music and sounds to create unique artwork.

Sarah, an artist, who is currently living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, said: "I’ve had it for as long as I can remember."

"I was six when I noticed something was different about me."

"I remember telling my mum Disney music was sparkly."

"She giggled and said 'that’s imaginative'. I kept saying – ‘it really is sparkly’."

"It’s just a sense. It’s so normal to me."

"It can be pretty distracting and over stimulating."

"I feel lucky. It’s really fun."

Sarah grew up with an intense auditory sensitivity and would struggle in a classroom setting.

She said: "In school I loved to learn but classrooms were really noisy."

"Teachers would play music while testing."

"I would be so lost I couldn’t do the test."

"Music is the most vivid to me."

Sarah believes synesthesia runs in the family as her dad, Max, 67, and English teacher has misophonia – the discomfort with sound.

Sarah says high-pitched notes are normally brighter for her – such as a siren and colours will vary if someone else says a word or if she says one.

She said: "It depends on pitch to me."

"It can look different when people say a name and when I say it."

Some sounds stay consistent for Sarah such as ‘sh’ which looks like spray paint to her.

She said most sounds are "pleasant" but some can be discomforting such as the hoarse voice of someone with laryngitis – which looks scratchy, lumpy and has some sharp elements for her."

Sarah said: "The first time I had laryngitis the visuals of my own voice scared me."

"I cried all day."

Sarah experiences visuals for people’s names when they are spoken out loud – not when she reads them.

She said: "The name Everly is really pretty."

"It has silky blue shapes and the ‘ly’ has twinkles of light."

"Harry’s (Styles) voice looks like emerald green speckles of magic ."

Sarah uses her unique sense to inspire her painting and creates art from the visuals she experiences in music.

She said: "People send me a voice note of a loved one passed away and I will paint from that."

"I paint what I see."

Sarah can still struggle with the overstimulation of the visuals and will put in ear plugs or remove herself from a situation if she needs to.

She said: "For me, it has had some serious drawbacks."

"I was in New York City, and I nearly walked into the oncoming traffic because I was so distracted."

"It has felt isolating."

"I would say no to things, or I wouldn’t go."

"I would have loved to say ‘can we go to a different restaurant as this one is too noisy?’."

"I feel I can do this now."

Despite the drawbacks Sarah has experience in her life from her synesthesia she said she "can’t imagine not having it."

She said: "I can’t imagine sensory and colours not being a part of music – I wouldn’t trade it."

"It’s automatic. Just like any other sense."

"I can’t control it."

"It has a mind of its own."

Visuals Sarah sees from sounds and names -
Ocean waves – silver threads crisscrossing
Siren – bright yellow
Bassey car horn – smoky purple
Chickadee bird call – little ribbons of metallic gold, with white a little blue
Heavy rain – little specs of black
Everly - silky blue shapes and the ‘ly’ has twinkles of light
Dogs howl – Deep dark magenta and lightens up at the end with a rose pink
White noise – smoky grey like fog
Running that Hill (Kate Bush) song – Drums look like a smoky explosion of purple powder, Kate’s voice looks like a thick ribbon of bubble gum.
Beckham – ‘B’ is an explosion of smoky blue, ‘e’ a slide of silky white, ‘k’ a flex of red, ‘a’ orange rose sparkly pink, ‘mmm’ sound is loops of blue
Daphne – looks like silk and sequins
Jax – a fun tornado
Chelsey – looks like cotton candy
Harry Styles speaking voice – looks like emerald green speckles of magic