When Angie Yen woke up on April 28, it felt like just another morning. But when the 27-year-old dentist got in the shower and started singing — something she always did — she was shocked by the sound she heard. Instead of her normal Aussie accent, Ms Yen was stunned to hear a “foreign accent” that “sounds very Irish”.

“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 in the country.”