Last month, 28-year-old Angie Yen of Brisbane, Australia had her tonsils removed. Nine days later, she woke up one morning to take a shower, when she started singing as she normally does.
And you can imagine her shock when, instead of her normal, Australian accent, she sounded like she was singing in a "foreign accent" that sounded "very Irish." Yen told News.com.au, "When I started singing I was singing in a different sound and also talking words in a funny accent."
She phoned a friend who revealed that she might be suffering from "Foreign Accent Syndrome" (FAS). Fearing a stroke, which is often associated with FAS, she went to the hospital. However, she was discharged after showing no other signs of illness.
She said, "They couldn’t do anything, I was normal. I just sounded different and (they said), ‘you’re still healing from your surgery so maybe your vocal cords are damaged."
Now two weeks after the procedure, Yen is STILL speaking with the Irish accent. She will soon be getting an MRI and blood test, and is booked in to see a neurologist on the advice of her ear, nose and throat specialist in order to see if there is any way to alleviate the effects of FAS.
Yen says while she is still struggling to accept her "new" accent, she can't thank her friends and family enough for the support. She says, "I’m very lucky to have very supportive friends and family so whether there’s anything wrong in my head I don’t know, if they find something hopefully there is a cure or treatment for it."