When Sensory Sensitivities Become Fears

By Kerrie Smyres

1 min read

Sensitivities to sensory input are called phobias in medical language — photophobia, phonophobia, and osmophobia — but they aren't considered actual phobias. But when light, sounds, or odors are migraine triggers, it's easy to start to fear them.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

latodavia Member
Smells! Yes oh yes oh yes! Perfume is the worst, followed by smoke. Bug spray. Cat boxes. Car exhaust. I could go on and on.
1. April.Sluder Moderator
 Hi <inline-mention user-id="3832397" username="latodavia"/> , yes smells can big a big trigger for many of us. It makes sense that some people could become anxious at just the sight of those things that could produce those smells. I hope you are having a good week. April - <a href='https://migraine.com' target='_blank'>Migraine.com</a> Team
smokey80 Member
I'm curious how old u are, as These smells have been acting out my whole life. I still fear them now. I just didn't know that other people had this? I mean, just the thought of any smells immediately gives me a migraine!
1. Kerrie Smyres Moderator & Contributor
 Hi smokey80, I'm sorry you know what it is like to be so sensitive to smells! I'm in my mid-40s, but have been sensitive to smells as long as I can remember. My sensitivity became a lot worse about a decade ago when my migraine attacks were at their very worst. Even when I got through the worst of the migraine attacks, the sensitivity to smell hasn't diminished. Take care, Kerrie
wsawtelle Member
A one paragraph article?
1. glassmind Member
 Video article. I do wish a transcript would be included as I cannot always watch the videos.
vintchic Member
Smells are a huge trigger for me and if I get perfume-bombed by a person, my first feeling is RAGE. I want to just scream at them about how sick I'm going to be thanks to them. The level of rage scares me and the panic that follows. How bad will this one be? What am I going to have to cancel? And on and on.
painsucks Member
One single whiff of cigarette smoke brings on a 10 hour migraine. Needless to say, I’m a fairly rabid anti-smoker.
1. Melissa Arnold Community Admin
 Ooh, Pete, I totally hear you. Smoke isn't good for any of us, migraineurs or not. I am grateful that regulations have been put in place to try to keep secondhand smoke away from those who don't want to be around it ... remember when it was legal to smoke in restaurants? I hope that you have more freedom to breathe easily these days, too. -Melissa, <a href='https://migraine.com' target='_blank'>migraine.com</a> team
kateymac Member
I love this, and Kerrie - your explanation was great. One sensory trigger I don’t often hear about is, I don’t know if there’s a name, but it’s any movement around me. To explain: - if too many people are in the same room with me - worse if they happen to be moving around. It’s not the noise, smells, or lights; It’s any movement in the atmosphere around me. I wonder if it’s part of Allodynia, which has arrived and worsened with age, It feels like the effect is similar. Any thoughts?
1. kateymac Member
 Thank you, glassmind; I’ll look into that. I’ll be very curious to compare the symptoms.
2. Kerrie Smyres Moderator & Contributor
 Thanks, kateymac. I get stressed from sensory input like you describe, but it isn't a trigger for me, so I'm not really sure. Any chance you have anxiety? I've heard of anxiety being a migraine trigger and such sensory input being an anxiety trigger. That's a long shot, but is my best guess. Though since migraine makes us so sensitive to any sensory input, it's logical that visual input like that could also be a trigger. That's me thinking "aloud"—I hope it's of some help. Take care, Kerrie
glassmind Member
So relatable. I have developed similar anxieties, because some of the scents I am most sensitive to during an attack (not triggers) are also scents that I experience as Phantom Smells before an attack (aura symptom). So, if I smell one of these and the source is obscured, I become anxious. “Is the smell real or phantom? Is this aura? Am I just going crazy?” I hunt, and solicit others to hunt for the scent source. As long as someone else can smell it even if we fail to find the source, then my fears are abated. But, if either the other person does not smell it or I am alone and it remains elusive, then I remain anxious. If it turns out to have been a phantom smell then, yep, I get a migraine. But, if it is just of unknown provenance I stay migraine free even though I remain anxious. Thanks for opening the conversation on phobias (sensitivities), anxiety, and attacks. Vibe hugs
1. Kerrie Smyres Moderator & Contributor
 Thanks for sharing your experience, glassmind. Phantom smells are so frustrating. I'm sorry they are such a source of anxiety for you. Isn't it interesting that smells that aren't triggers can still be exceptionally problematic during an attack? Take care, Kerrie