Brave Lewis Capaldi put Tourette’s centre stage – thousands live with the same condition

LEWIS CAPALDI’s moving performance at Glastonbury has shone a light on Tourette syndrome – which the singer was diagnosed with only last year.

The 26-year-old chart-topper lost his voice and relied on the audience to sing along with him.

Now he is taking a break from performing for the “foreseeable future”, saying he needs time to adjust to the impact of living with his condition.

Emma McNally, CEO of the charity Tourette’s Action, hopes Lewis’s openness about his struggle will help others living with this debilitating neurological condition.

She told Sun on Sunday Health: “Millions have seen the pain, frustration and sheer exhaustion Lewis suffered on stage and will now have an idea about the symptoms of Tourette’s.

“Lewis is just at the start of his journey but hopefully by being so open he’ll help shine a light on this condition to provide others with better support and treatments in the future.”

‘Feeling of shame’

Tourette’s often starts at age six or seven, and affects one in every 100 schoolkids in the UK — with boys three times more prone to it than girls.

Symptoms will typically peak around puberty then settle but for some people it continues into adulthood.

Key features are involuntary tics ­— rapid, repetitive twitches such as eye-rolling and blinking, and shrugging, jumping and twirling, as well as sounds like tongue-clicking, whistling, coughing grunting and, and, less often, swearing.

Tics can be triggered by stressful life events, such as problems at school, and by boredom, anger or excitement.

About 15 per cent of people living with Tourette’s also have coprolalia — which causes involuntary and repetitive swearing or use of obscene language.

Although causes of Tourette’s are not yet fully understood by scientists, research has found that genes can play an important role.

Emma added: “Tics can have a huge impact on a person’s life, both physically and mentally. Almost all people with Tourette’s report that they experience daily pain from tics, mostly due to the repetitive nature.

“They also suffer fatigue and frustration and many report a feeling of shame, mostly due to the reactions they receive in public.”