Mother who wakes up with a different FOREIGN accent every day– which she blames on an MRI scan – claims she suffers RACIST ABUSE from strangers Michaela Armer, from Poulton-Le-Fylde, has foreign accent syndrome She lost her Lancashire accent overnight two years ago after an MRI scan Can wake up sounding Chinese, Filipino, South African, Italian, Polish or French Says she is subjected to callous digs from strangers and prank calls Condition has also left 47-year-old reliant on a wheelchair and suffering tremors A mother who wakes up every day with a different foreign accent claims she suffers racist abuse from strangers. Michaela Armer from Poulton-Le-Fylde lost her Lancashire accent overnight two years ago, something she believes was triggered by an MRI scan. Since then, the 47-year-old doesn't know before opening her mouth when she wakes up whether she'll speak in a Chinese, Filipino, South African, Italian, Polish or French accent. The condition has not only affected her speech – she says the condition has forced her to give up her job as she is left reliant on a wheelchair and suffers tremors. Now she says she has been subjected to callous supermarket comments and prank Chinese takeaway calls. The 47-year-old can wake up not knowing if she will sound Chinese, Filipino, South African, Italian, Polish or French accent Ms Armer is one of just a handful of people worldwide who has foreign accent syndrome – a speech disorder that causes a sudden change to speech so that a native speaker is perceived to speak with a 'foreign' accent. It is thought the rare condition is caused by damage to the part of the brain which controls language. She said: 'I've suffered from racism all the time over the last couple of years. 'The first time it made cry was in a supermarket back in July 2015 and someone said 'those Polish people are everywhere' – it was awful. 'I've had people say I sound Chinese all the time. I've had people ringing at work laughing down the phone saying 'can I have chicken fried rice?'. It happens all the time.' 'I couldn't say my own name' After the MRI scan in May 2015 Ms Armer said she struggled to say her own name She regained her speech by singing the infamous 1998 Witch Doctor song as a type of therapy which helped her practise saying vowels. Ms Armer, who has two children, said: 'Two weeks after the MRI scan I began to notice I was getting my words wrong. I would say things like 'bag tea' instead of 'tea bag'. 'Two weeks later I realised I couldn't even say my own name. I had to get my speech back by singing "Ooh Eeh Ooh Ah Aah Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang". 'Some may laugh or mock me through no fault of my own. It's hard, I feel like I've lost a part of my identity. 'I tell people I'm from Preston and they don't believe me. I say I went to school in Preston, I lived in Preston, I'm from Preston – but people just won't have it.' Forced to give up work and driving Ms Armer has been in and out of hospital for the last two years and is planning to go to see specialists in Edinburgh in a desperate bid to get answers – and her accent back. She says she is unable to walk distances and unable to drive a manual car. The condition has also 'aggravated' her chronic complex migraines. The mother-of-two said she was forced to give up her job in retail and move in with her partner She said: 'I gave up my Audi A4 because I couldn't drive it anymore. 'I had to give up my job in retail because of my illness which meant I had to give my rented home three-bedroomed terraced house and move in with my partner John. 'The problems affect other parts of my body. At work, my arm will just sweep the desk as my brain can't cope which is very frustrating. 'My body sometimes just goes into a spasm. If I'm really bad I just go home and lie down until the symptoms pass. 'I just live my life every day the best I can – I get up, get dressed and keep smiling – that's how I manage to get on. 'I would just be elated if I got my original Lancashire accent back permanently. 'It's just so frustrating waking up an not knowing how I'm going to sound.' Proud Ms Armer said people make her feel like ;a second class citizen'. 'Once might be funny, but when you've heard it infinite times it can be really frustrating and upsetting,' she said. 'People can just be so awful – even just asking 'where are you from?' and not believing you is racism in my opinion. 'Having people say these things shows how much my identity has gone with the condition. Mrs Armer says she'd had people ringing at work laughing down the phone saying 'can I have chicken fried rice?' 'It's so frustrating waking up in the morning and not knowing how you're going to sound. 'I'm always worried – is somebody going to take the mickey out of me today? Ms Armer's partner of three years John Gaffney, 71, said he is proud of how she's managing her condition. He said: 'You never know what accent she's going to have on a given day – some days she sounds Eastern European. 'She sounds a little bit Chinese sometimes, then French, Italian – she's even sounded Polish and Latvian. 'I remember there were once some women in their 60s or 70s were arguing with each other trying to work out where she was from. 'They were talking about her as if she wasn't there. 'It's very hard to see her go through this, but she's a very determined woman. 'I'm in awe of her – sometimes I think I don't deserve her.' WHAT IS FOREIGN ACCENT SYNDROME? Foreign accent syndrome is speech disorder that causes a sudden change to speech so that a native speaker is perceived to speak with a 'foreign' accent. It is most often caused by damage to the brain caused by a stroke or traumatic brain injury. Other causes have also been reported including multiple sclerosis and conversion disorder. In some cases no clear cause has been identified. Speech may be altered in terms of timing, intonation, and tongue placement, so that is perceived as sounding foreign. Listeners can usually still understand the sufferer's speech; it does not necessarily sound disordered. Foreign Accent Syndrome has been documented in cases around the world, including accent changes from Japanese to Korean, British English to French, American-English to British English, and Spanish to Hungarian. There have only ever been 150 confirmed cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome in the world so far. HOW SAFE ARE MRI SCANS? Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered very safe and most people can have the procedure including babies. The images are made without using any ionising radiation, so patients are not exposed to these harmful effects. According to NHS Choices, there's no evidence to suggest MRI scans pose a risk during pregnancy. However, as a precaution, they are not usually recommended for expectant mothers, particularly in the first three months. There are some instances where an MRI scan may not be recommended, such as if you have metal implants or fragments in your body because the strong magnets used during the scan can affect them. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, there are no known health hazards from temporary exposure to MRIs. But it does warn they involve a strong, static magnetic field, a magnetic field that changes with time (pulsed gradient field), and radiofrequency energy, each of which carry specific safety concerns: Potential injury if metal objects enter the magnetic area and become projectiles. Peripheral muscle or nerve stimulation that may feel like a twitching sensation caused by magnetic fields. Heating of the body from the radio frequency energy used, with greater risk during long MRI examinations. The use of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) also carries some risk, including side effects such as allergic reactions to the contrast agent. Source
