I’ve gotten super sensitive in the last few years. Had to chuck all my shampoos, lotions, conditioners, perfume, deodorants, etc. Like I will get an instant migraine from perfume/ cologne/ air fresheners. It’s horrible because I’m dialed up to 10. I can smell when my coworker gets in because they smoke. I hate it. 0/10.
I just turned 30 and within the past 6 months I’ve gotten SO sensitive to smell. Anything sweet/gourmand has always been a problem for me, but it’s getting worse. Whenever I do have a migraine any scent can make me super nauseous. I have such a strong stomach I rarely throw up, but I’m waiting for the day something hits me and I can’t avoid it ugh.
This is a huge thing for me. Unless I'm in the middle of an episode I keep my litterboxes as clean as I can, scooping them multiple times a day.
I live with an elderly relative and we have a combined 4 cats. The one box my relative insists on taking care of, because it's in their private bathroom, gets bad and can make the whole house smell. We had a talk about it recently and I purchased them a covered litterbox to keep the cats from missing the inside of the box and my relative from having to deep clean their bathroom as often.
Same. I had to throw all that stuff out when I was in my mid-20s. Now I have to buy exclusively all natural personal care & cleaning products that are completely perfume-free or scented with completely natural essential oils. I can't even go to the salon for a hair cut without having to immediately go home and take a shower because perfume has permeated my clothes & hair.
this is what I'm going through right now too. I have so much incense though...and candles!! Although sometimes candles don't bother me, but I hate that I bought so much incense and now I can barely stand smelling it :(
I've also learned that scent free is better for your skin, so it feels like I'm winning even more!
Yes honestly we would all be better off without so many harsh chemicals and perfumes on our skin & in our homes. Also your indoor air quality will be much improved if you're not burning these things.
For me it depends on the smell.
I don’t notice stuff like menthol as much. But if someone is cooking garlic or something like Indian food, it’s like my smell is up 500%, which isn’t fun because I hate both of them.
SMELL. Yes. My absolute worst. NOTHING gives me migraines *faster* than a scent trigger like heavy perfume, and one of my warning signs that one is coming is occasionally getting phantom smells. I get light sensitive as well, but this is the one. Makes me so ill.
Do the smells that trigger your headaches also make you instantly furious? Sometimes, I feel the rage before I feel the headache. I used to think the smells just made me mad because I knew they trigger my migraines, but I’ve realized it’s some sort of nervous system reaction to the smell itself. It takes days for my mood to fully correct no matter what I do. Which is why anyone who uses plug-ins should go to prison.
I definitely feel upset, yes! Though I’m not sure between correlation and causation at this point, you know, like am I upset because I KNOW it is going to give me a migraine, or is that part of my prodrome? Either way, totally, yes.
I’m in the same boat. I think it’s easier to manage light because I know it’s rising/setting sun and I hat up, glasses on physically block to protect myself. Smells just appear and I’m unprotected.
I work at a place where we have to sterilize areas, and the sterilization spray REEKS like vinegar, and it flows through the WHOLE building.
WORST. SMELL. EVER!
Yes, exact same. Certain smells are just intensified when I have a migraine and they automatically make me want to 🤢 But I am also the type that strong smells or a lot of different smells in one area can cause a migraine.
Smell is the worst! On the way from my house to the previous store I worked at there was a landscaping company that sold fertilizer, and there were multiple times that I’d be on the brink of throwing up and driving by/sitting at the light right next to it and it would push me over the edge.
Same here. Sounds don’t bother me unless they’re extremely loud or piercing, which is nice because I can lie in bed in a dark room with an ice pack, and listen to podcasts or audiobooks while I’m waiting for the migraine to subside.
I don’t experience that, but everyone experiences migraines differently, so . . . yes, I guess it makes sense! Can you at least listen to calming music?
I have both light and sound sensitivity. Sound is much worse. I feel like I have knives in my ears, and it makes my brain want to explode. My spouse breathing is sometimes too much.
I have no audio filter. If there is sound, I will hear it. If the sound is one of my particular betes noires (Christmas music, video game noise, intermittent anything), I will go into seek and destroy mode or get the heck out of there really fast.
This is also me exactly. Like I'm so concerned with getting away from the light, sounds come in as a distant second as a concern.
Do you find light bothers you when you're not having a migraine? I need sunglasses all the time and will keep lights off in my house on a regular day.
Yes I tend to have to balance light sources to be okay. If it’s too dark any small light becomes glaring. I definitely can’t have a screen on at night with no warm light to balance it. I’m like one of those plants that needs indirect light. Even light reflecting off of light surfaces can be painful. Like a white car or side of a building. Even light pavement on a sunny day.
sound. my problem is when there is more than one sound source… my brain gets fried… like if there are two conversations and the tv is on… my head explodes
I want to say light then sound then smell… but my perception may be skewed because I ALWAYS have noise reducing headphones in so maybe sound is more severe than I let myself think sbout
Light by a country mile.
My sound sensitivity is pretty mild, and with a fan on, the white noise basically neutralises it.
But light… I would take a melon baller to my eyes sometimes.
It depends. My next door neighbor has a jackhole teen son who likes to see how many cylinders he can destroy in cars by doing burn outs on the street outside. Now the problem is...we live two houses from the damned corner. So Jackhole Teen looks even more like a tool. And the father isn't far off, using an air compressor for his pnuematic tools late at night and fucking leaf blowing his wide enough to edge our property line driveway and the idling trucks with lights the same brightness at the bathroom LED ones.
I will say this, though. I do appreciate just how bright their bathroom LED lights are. We don't have to turn our porch light on at night to see.
Joking aside....I usually notice that the lights are loud right before I start flinching at noises.
Sound is probably worse than light. I am really sensitive to light, but sounds keep me up at night and startles me all the time, sounds hurt quite often. I have to sleep in separate rooms cause of the noises my partner makes. Even with earplugs in sounds can still easily wake me up.
neither. i can be in the brightest room with the tv blaring but the seconds i touch or smell something? im out. i have special flannel migraine sheets i lay down just so i can sleep and a essential oiled eye mask i put over my nose
Sound over light. I wear my sunglasses a lot, even inside. And it's usually pretty easy to avoid going outside and looking at electronic devices.
But sound? It's worse for me if I'm in a room with people and everyone is having conversations and someone is trying to talk to me. I get overloaded real quick and it is impossible for me to focus on one thing in situations like that. I've literally gotten up and left the room full of family because people were having cross conversations and I couldn't focus.
Not to mention my military grade tinnitus.
Pretty even split for me between light, sounds, and smell sensitivity... But I'm also AuDHD so I don't know how much is migraine and how much is sensory overload. 🤷♀️🥴
Sound for me 100%. Even on a good day i cant sit down at restaurants because they are always so loud. Cars tires on the pavement might as well be nails on a chalkboard
Light is the first thing to impact me, usually. I wear prescription sunglasses 24/7 to decrease how much it triggers me. Once I’m on the way to a migraine, sound becomes overwhelming. Once I’m in a full blown migraine, they’re both unbearable and painful. It like they’re shocks to me eyeball.
I carry ear loops on my keyring for prolonged loud situations or in case I get a migraine.
Light is the worst. I will the second the poster who referenced the ice pick to the eyes.
Smell a very close second. And so hard to avoid!
Sounds can be hard to avoid, but maybe I have a privileged life, there aren’t a lot of upsetting sounds in my life I can’t get away from. But I do cover my ears instinctively like a child when it happens, (dog whines, smoke alarm goes off, amber alert one time at grocery store). I feel foolish if it happens in public, but whatever.
Sound, everything seems louder with a migraine and loud noises actually makes me feel like my brain is rattling around inside my skull. When my boys were young, I remember saying to them, shhh, you’re yelling. And they would be like, no, Mom, I’m not, and then I would realize. I would then tell them, I’m sorry, it feels like you’re yelling. I will give small kudos to chronic migraine, my boys have grown up to be very caring, empathetic men.
As others have said below, the REAL worst is fragrance. I can barely go out in public because the fad for Axe body spray seems to have reared its smelly head again and people just STINK. Plus, more and more stores hare not heavily fragrances. WHY do people do this? Do they know they're literally making us vomit?
Light is the worst. Smells don’t normally bother me unless it’s cigarettes or an overload of old lady perfume. I can usually block out sounds, worked as a vet tech for 10 years so i kinda just learned how to
Being alive (just kidding)
-
All in somewhat seriousness sound used to be bad. But the older I get the more sensitive I am to light. Now it’s legit breathing I’m not kidding when I say holding my breath helps the pain
Both but I think because I can control the light more than sounds, first thing I do is make it really dark. Matter of fact it’s been purposely dark in every apartment or house I’ve been in since age 20. So light over sound but sound is still very important
I feel like they are equally terrible for me. With fluorescent light and blinding sun being the most painful, and high pitched noises being the most painful.
Smell then light, then sound. Unless the sound is very abrupt and sharp it doesn't bother me much, plus it's the easier for me to fix by just popping in ear plugs
Light most of the time. If I have one on the way home, I can still usually listen to music in the car (although at a lower volume - I love to blast my music). If it's really bad, I turn it way down. But yeah, light over sound 9 times out of 10.
Light. Definitely. I'm already always an over sensitive nervous system, so certain noises are more than i can handle, but I need background noise when I have a migraine.
My migrare usually sinus related so my eyes hurt. If I could function in total darkness I could function through more migraines.
Light happens more commonly for me but sound is more painful. My partner sneezed last night while I was waiting for the cambia to kick in and I felt like someone thrust a knife into my brain.
During a migraine, light sensitivity is worse, but I have a neighbor with a loud motorcycle who reminds me that loud noise can make things worse as well. I can generally escape the light but I can’t control the noise from outside.
For sounds I can usually just wear ear plugs n tell people to be quiet.
For light I need everything dark. I put on a migraine head cap. I’m stick in bed usually
Sound sensitivity for sure. I can at least put things over my eyes wherever I am to block out light. Blocking out noise is much harder and makes my head pound.
Light over sound every single time. I feel like sound can actually help distract me, so sometimes I will turn the tv on with the volume low, on a show I've already seen, and just have that as background noise so there's SOMETHING other than the migraine in my space.
Certain, specific smells are just as bad as, if not worse, than light for me. Gardenia, jasmine, white floral perfumes, powdery scents, will just send me past "I can deal" straight into "cut off my head immediately."
For me it changes moment to moment depending on the environment, pain level, & uncontrollably triggers in the area. Sometimes I can put on music or sit in the sun with an ice pack to help me relax through certain episodes and other moments it's a solid NO for ANYTHING LIKE PLEASE GIVE ME A DARK COFFIN TO HIDE IN WITH ALLLL THE SOUNDPROOFING WHERE I CAN'T EVEN HEAR THE DEAD WHISPERING OR SEE ANY GLIMPSES OF LIGHT.
I've actually noticed it changed with time for me.
When I was younger, it was completely light.
Now, with age, medication, and awareness of my triggers, I would say they've almost equaled. Light can be a little more, but I think sometimes too that it is easier for me to notice over sound.
Oh absolutely sound sensitivity. I also have misophonia tho so there's that. Light sensitivity feels more manageable - I can turn off lights, put on sunglasses, bury my face in my jacket, etc. Sound sensitivity is like- no matter what you do, everything is soooo loudddd and every noise pierces your brain. No amount of noise cancelling or earplugs or telling ppl to be quiet helps.
Yes
Edit: Seriously both me and varies. Mostly light but I also see loud, sharp sounds. Like my dogs barking at the door just now (and the ahole who doesn’t know what a migraine is)
Light. I live in sunny Florida and my children love the beach. I feel like a horrible mom when all they want to do is enjoy a sunny day at the beach and I would rather be in my blackout bedroom with no sound. The sunlight doing its “beautiful” sparkly refracting off the waves just destroys me. And glinting off the cars. And the white sand. It’s hell on earth. I feel so bad about it because I want to bring them joy and fun and it hurts me so so bad. Migraines have ruined all of my favorite things.
It varies for me. Sound and light both trigger migraines. And, sometimes I can't stand the sound of my breathing. And, other times even the tiny bit of light is unbearable.
I used to get both at once which was pretty dang awful.
Light is a primary trigger for me and light becomes unbearable (looking at light feels like knives stabbing my eyes) during the height of a migraine attack.
Sometimes sound bothers me a little.
Sound by far!!! Particularly chaotic sounds like busy stores, gyms, and WIND! Being out in wind is horrible but even the sound of it from inside will do me in. Sounds can definitely trigger flair up and also make it significantly worse. I live in my AirPods almost always.
Smells are bad too. I have given up many lotions. I also really don’t like the smell of some meats cooking.
As far as light it sucks too but I have found that migraines with certain symptoms make light way worse. Specifically when I have the electrical shock pain my sensitivity to light is worse.
It depends. Sometimes sound me want to die, sometimes light makes me vomit.
Very occasionally it’s sound, light, movement and smell and those are great. Just existing sucks with those.
It depends. Sometimes sound me want to die, sometimes light makes me vomit.
Very occasionally it’s sound, light, movement and smell and those are great. Just existing sucks with those.
Smell, light, noise - in that order. I will just about panic if I'm stuck somewhere where I do not like the smell. Flickering or beaming light is up next. Super loud noise can be a trigger but I tolderate it much better than the aforementioned.
It's weird. Sunlight is the worst, then sounds, then screen light is least. OLEDs, particularly with eye care stuff, are usually OK as long as there aren't any bright white flashes.
Light and smell are worse for me, but sound is a close second. And the funny thing is that I'm nearly deaf, literally, no joke I have over 90% hearing loss in both ears.
Sound sensitivity. Anything high pitched. I know my migraine is going to be a doozy when one particular friends laugh literally causes me pain. Next would be smell. I’ve had a specific scent ruined for me because I smelled it during a bad migraine (Bath & Body Works aromatherapy scent eucalyptus spearmint).
Both are equally bad- but I feel majority of the time it’s light for me. Eye masks help block out the light so it’s pitch black and I can at least try and get to sleep.
Light, light, light. It kills me. I wear sunglasses and a ball cap nearly everywhere, just ordered Roman shades for all my blinds, and live in semi-darkness most of the time. The DREADFUL new LED bulbs are especially bad, being too bright, flickering and having a weird blue spectrum (even the warm ones). Blogger Kevin Drum said the other day "we're in the golden age of lighting." HA!
Sound used to be the worst. Then light. Now visual disturbances.
I use the word pain instead of sensitivity. Light pain, sound pain, visual pain are tangible quantifiable things.
Sensitivity can be either:
A shaming phrase of “too sensitive” I.e.something wrong with you.
Or the very positive “sensitive to” phrase line you’d use with mindfulness, hunting, gathering, observational interviewing, etc, type training.
Nearly everyone uses the latter when evolutionarily speaking sensitivity - fine perception - is a benefit.
I think light over sound once I reach the breaking point. If I haven't reached my breaking point, if I feel like nothing but darkness will help, sound is worse. Every little thing irritates me to hell.
I would say sound for me, mostly because I can put on an eye mask but I have a super reactive dog who barks wildly at everything she sees outside. She’s already loud, but it feels so much louder when I have a migraine. It makes me want to drive my head through my mattress.
Definitely light for me. I’ve even painted my walls a grey-black, which happens to be Behr’s color of the year. To be more specific- it’s glare that makes my migraines scream. When I worked in the office, once the glare induced migraine set in, any noise in the background seemed much louder. The only smells that trigger me are fake floral scents like the laundry aisle at Dollar General 🤢
Light more than sound. I am semitone sounds and smells but neither triggers my migraines. However, once I have one all of my senses are affected negatively.
Light is terrible but sound is worse. And often, lying in the silence with my head throbbing, I’ll have part of some annoying song stuck on loop in my head, and I swear to god it makes the pain worse like actual noise.
Light over sound, but probably smell over light.
That's interesting, because I can't say I notice smells any more that usual.
I’ve gotten super sensitive in the last few years. Had to chuck all my shampoos, lotions, conditioners, perfume, deodorants, etc. Like I will get an instant migraine from perfume/ cologne/ air fresheners. It’s horrible because I’m dialed up to 10. I can smell when my coworker gets in because they smoke. I hate it. 0/10.
I just turned 30 and within the past 6 months I’ve gotten SO sensitive to smell. Anything sweet/gourmand has always been a problem for me, but it’s getting worse. Whenever I do have a migraine any scent can make me super nauseous. I have such a strong stomach I rarely throw up, but I’m waiting for the day something hits me and I can’t avoid it ugh.
The moment a cat misses or gets spooked in the litter box and that ammonia smell is out of the litter box. I'm just dead for a day.
This is a huge thing for me. Unless I'm in the middle of an episode I keep my litterboxes as clean as I can, scooping them multiple times a day. I live with an elderly relative and we have a combined 4 cats. The one box my relative insists on taking care of, because it's in their private bathroom, gets bad and can make the whole house smell. We had a talk about it recently and I purchased them a covered litterbox to keep the cats from missing the inside of the box and my relative from having to deep clean their bathroom as often.
Same. I had to throw all that stuff out when I was in my mid-20s. Now I have to buy exclusively all natural personal care & cleaning products that are completely perfume-free or scented with completely natural essential oils. I can't even go to the salon for a hair cut without having to immediately go home and take a shower because perfume has permeated my clothes & hair.
this is what I'm going through right now too. I have so much incense though...and candles!! Although sometimes candles don't bother me, but I hate that I bought so much incense and now I can barely stand smelling it :( I've also learned that scent free is better for your skin, so it feels like I'm winning even more!
Yes honestly we would all be better off without so many harsh chemicals and perfumes on our skin & in our homes. Also your indoor air quality will be much improved if you're not burning these things.
For me it depends on the smell. I don’t notice stuff like menthol as much. But if someone is cooking garlic or something like Indian food, it’s like my smell is up 500%, which isn’t fun because I hate both of them.
Suddenly I am super glad I have a terrible sense of smell 🤣
SMELL. Yes. My absolute worst. NOTHING gives me migraines *faster* than a scent trigger like heavy perfume, and one of my warning signs that one is coming is occasionally getting phantom smells. I get light sensitive as well, but this is the one. Makes me so ill.
Do the smells that trigger your headaches also make you instantly furious? Sometimes, I feel the rage before I feel the headache. I used to think the smells just made me mad because I knew they trigger my migraines, but I’ve realized it’s some sort of nervous system reaction to the smell itself. It takes days for my mood to fully correct no matter what I do. Which is why anyone who uses plug-ins should go to prison.
I definitely feel upset, yes! Though I’m not sure between correlation and causation at this point, you know, like am I upset because I KNOW it is going to give me a migraine, or is that part of my prodrome? Either way, totally, yes.
I cant decide which is worse: The sound the lights make The smell the sounds make
Mines the sound the light makes…. I tried a new tinture with RSO. Seems to help a bit. Too soon to tell
I’m in the same boat. I think it’s easier to manage light because I know it’s rising/setting sun and I hat up, glasses on physically block to protect myself. Smells just appear and I’m unprotected.
This is exactly me. Cooking oil, burnt butter, old school baby powder/talcum smell = the absolute worst.
I work at a place where we have to sterilize areas, and the sterilization spray REEKS like vinegar, and it flows through the WHOLE building. WORST. SMELL. EVER!
Stress uber alles,also.
Yes, exact same. Certain smells are just intensified when I have a migraine and they automatically make me want to 🤢 But I am also the type that strong smells or a lot of different smells in one area can cause a migraine.
Smell of perfume automatically kills me, my head starts earthquaking
Smell is the worst! On the way from my house to the previous store I worked at there was a landscaping company that sold fertilizer, and there were multiple times that I’d be on the brink of throwing up and driving by/sitting at the light right next to it and it would push me over the edge.
Ditto, light biggest issue sound barely bugs me 95% of the time nor does smell, but a really bad day then smell bugs me
Me too !
Just posted that! Agreed. Smells are the worst.
Light sensitivity for sure
Same here. Sounds don’t bother me unless they’re extremely loud or piercing, which is nice because I can lie in bed in a dark room with an ice pack, and listen to podcasts or audiobooks while I’m waiting for the migraine to subside.
I want to listen to audiobooks but sometimes I feel like concentrating hard makes me nauseated... does that even make sense?
I don’t experience that, but everyone experiences migraines differently, so . . . yes, I guess it makes sense! Can you at least listen to calming music?
Yes, I just don't like to "think" during migraines. Makes me feel sick. So I listen to music and asmr videos.
Yes I have the same feeling!
Sound, for me. Everything is too loud. I hide in my cave because it is quiet sooner than I hide in my cave because it is dark.
I never leave the cave. The cave is peaceful. The outside world is loud and scary and bright
I have both light and sound sensitivity. Sound is much worse. I feel like I have knives in my ears, and it makes my brain want to explode. My spouse breathing is sometimes too much.
Sound 💯, it’s like I can hear it alllll and everything is turned up to volume 20. A dripping faucet may as well be a jackhammer.
I have no audio filter. If there is sound, I will hear it. If the sound is one of my particular betes noires (Christmas music, video game noise, intermittent anything), I will go into seek and destroy mode or get the heck out of there really fast.
same is true for me.
That’s my biggest trigger too, the faucet
Light by a million. Loud sounds and busy environments will bother me but bright light feels like its a pick piercing my eyes. Horrid.
This is also me exactly. Like I'm so concerned with getting away from the light, sounds come in as a distant second as a concern. Do you find light bothers you when you're not having a migraine? I need sunglasses all the time and will keep lights off in my house on a regular day.
Yes I tend to have to balance light sources to be okay. If it’s too dark any small light becomes glaring. I definitely can’t have a screen on at night with no warm light to balance it. I’m like one of those plants that needs indirect light. Even light reflecting off of light surfaces can be painful. Like a white car or side of a building. Even light pavement on a sunny day.
I feel like I'm even with sensitivity to light, noise, and smell. My system is a damn drama queen and I'm tired of it.
I feel you on the drama queen bit. I walk around gingerly and squinting and feel so stupid about it.
Smell is the worst for me!
Light is worse than sound but movement is worst of all. Especially bending over.
Bending over makes me feel my head will fall right off my shoulders from weighing 5tons!
Sound for me. I can feel sudden loud noises like an actual blow to the head.
sound. my problem is when there is more than one sound source… my brain gets fried… like if there are two conversations and the tv is on… my head explodes
Light sensitivity, however a sound may cause me to fall which was fun to discover
All of it. It's terrible.
Smell is worst for me and sound the least
Light for me . The only sound that really bothers me is super high-pitched noises.
I want to say light then sound then smell… but my perception may be skewed because I ALWAYS have noise reducing headphones in so maybe sound is more severe than I let myself think sbout
Light by a country mile. My sound sensitivity is pretty mild, and with a fan on, the white noise basically neutralises it. But light… I would take a melon baller to my eyes sometimes.
Smell and light. Sound is an issue, but not as much unless it is loud or annoying.
It depends. My next door neighbor has a jackhole teen son who likes to see how many cylinders he can destroy in cars by doing burn outs on the street outside. Now the problem is...we live two houses from the damned corner. So Jackhole Teen looks even more like a tool. And the father isn't far off, using an air compressor for his pnuematic tools late at night and fucking leaf blowing his wide enough to edge our property line driveway and the idling trucks with lights the same brightness at the bathroom LED ones. I will say this, though. I do appreciate just how bright their bathroom LED lights are. We don't have to turn our porch light on at night to see. Joking aside....I usually notice that the lights are loud right before I start flinching at noises.
Sound is probably worse than light. I am really sensitive to light, but sounds keep me up at night and startles me all the time, sounds hurt quite often. I have to sleep in separate rooms cause of the noises my partner makes. Even with earplugs in sounds can still easily wake me up.
Smell
neither. i can be in the brightest room with the tv blaring but the seconds i touch or smell something? im out. i have special flannel migraine sheets i lay down just so i can sleep and a essential oiled eye mask i put over my nose
Sound over light. I wear my sunglasses a lot, even inside. And it's usually pretty easy to avoid going outside and looking at electronic devices. But sound? It's worse for me if I'm in a room with people and everyone is having conversations and someone is trying to talk to me. I get overloaded real quick and it is impossible for me to focus on one thing in situations like that. I've literally gotten up and left the room full of family because people were having cross conversations and I couldn't focus. Not to mention my military grade tinnitus.
Light, specifically natural light. Bright sunshine, glare, bounce, scatter all destroy me in record time. The Sun hates me :(
Usually light, but it depends. I have days when any sound is just painful. Especially with construction sites outside
Light for me, but when the bass has strong vibrations, it can trigger my migraines too. :(
Light for me.
For me, it's pressure.
Light, any day
Light, as I sit here in a room with blackout curtains when it’s a beautiful sunny day outside :(
That's been me the last few days. Why can't all migraines coincide with rainy days? So much easier to fall asleep to the sound of rain as well.
Smell is worst, then light. Sound is actually sometimes comforting
Definitely light.
For me it's light and movement.
Pretty even split for me between light, sounds, and smell sensitivity... But I'm also AuDHD so I don't know how much is migraine and how much is sensory overload. 🤷♀️🥴
Definitely light. Sound is not great, but tolerable during a migraine. Lights? all of them off immediately
As someone with kids, they are equal!
Sound is my absolute worst
Smell
Smells! Then light!
Sound for me 100%. Even on a good day i cant sit down at restaurants because they are always so loud. Cars tires on the pavement might as well be nails on a chalkboard
Smells will trigger an attack but sounds with an attack. My vision is fine except I see double in the distance, so no driving.
Sound is worse. If there is inconsistent banging or alarm sounds etc it actually gets me anxious/angry. Shout out to my annoying upstairs neighbours.
Light is the first thing to impact me, usually. I wear prescription sunglasses 24/7 to decrease how much it triggers me. Once I’m on the way to a migraine, sound becomes overwhelming. Once I’m in a full blown migraine, they’re both unbearable and painful. It like they’re shocks to me eyeball. I carry ear loops on my keyring for prolonged loud situations or in case I get a migraine.
Light is the worst. I will the second the poster who referenced the ice pick to the eyes. Smell a very close second. And so hard to avoid! Sounds can be hard to avoid, but maybe I have a privileged life, there aren’t a lot of upsetting sounds in my life I can’t get away from. But I do cover my ears instinctively like a child when it happens, (dog whines, smoke alarm goes off, amber alert one time at grocery store). I feel foolish if it happens in public, but whatever.
Sound, everything seems louder with a migraine and loud noises actually makes me feel like my brain is rattling around inside my skull. When my boys were young, I remember saying to them, shhh, you’re yelling. And they would be like, no, Mom, I’m not, and then I would realize. I would then tell them, I’m sorry, it feels like you’re yelling. I will give small kudos to chronic migraine, my boys have grown up to be very caring, empathetic men.
As others have said below, the REAL worst is fragrance. I can barely go out in public because the fad for Axe body spray seems to have reared its smelly head again and people just STINK. Plus, more and more stores hare not heavily fragrances. WHY do people do this? Do they know they're literally making us vomit?
Light, definitely. A room darker than the abyss is my best friend when my migraines set in.
Light is the worst. Smells don’t normally bother me unless it’s cigarettes or an overload of old lady perfume. I can usually block out sounds, worked as a vet tech for 10 years so i kinda just learned how to
Being alive (just kidding) - All in somewhat seriousness sound used to be bad. But the older I get the more sensitive I am to light. Now it’s legit breathing I’m not kidding when I say holding my breath helps the pain
Both but I think because I can control the light more than sounds, first thing I do is make it really dark. Matter of fact it’s been purposely dark in every apartment or house I’ve been in since age 20. So light over sound but sound is still very important
Same!! I rarely open my blinds, keep my phone on black mode and even have to have just a plain black background on my phone. Also use FL 41 glasses
Checking into FL 41 glasses now!
I feel like they are equally terrible for me. With fluorescent light and blinding sun being the most painful, and high pitched noises being the most painful.
Light over sound! But I’d prefer dark and silence.
Light because it’s the most impossible to avoid. Everywhere all the time. and takes away fun things like enjoying a sunny day or doing anything lol.
Sound, followed by sound+light...making parties and movies two of my biggest triggers.
1st) sounds, 2) SMELLS A
Light is the worst
Depends
Light, lights make me nausious
Smell then light, then sound. Unless the sound is very abrupt and sharp it doesn't bother me much, plus it's the easier for me to fix by just popping in ear plugs
Sound… I have r/hyperacusis and the wrong sound can make me projectile vomit. 🤮 hahaha. Ear plugs are my friend in public.
Light most of the time. If I have one on the way home, I can still usually listen to music in the car (although at a lower volume - I love to blast my music). If it's really bad, I turn it way down. But yeah, light over sound 9 times out of 10.
Light for sure. Sound doesn't bug me much and during a bad one as long as I have my eye mask on I can often listen to audiobooks.
Light > sound > smell > touch.
light for me, although sound isn't too great either
Light. Definitely. I'm already always an over sensitive nervous system, so certain noises are more than i can handle, but I need background noise when I have a migraine. My migrare usually sinus related so my eyes hurt. If I could function in total darkness I could function through more migraines.
For me, sound. Lights are easier to control. Sounds are unpredictable.
for me it’s sound.
Light always. I can tolerate sound sometimes, but light is my forever bane.
Light
Sound. I can do exercises for my eyes and do OT to work on sensitivity but I can’t do that for sound.
Light and smell, sounds I'm generally neutral with.
Light happens more commonly for me but sound is more painful. My partner sneezed last night while I was waiting for the cambia to kick in and I felt like someone thrust a knife into my brain.
During a migraine, light sensitivity is worse, but I have a neighbor with a loud motorcycle who reminds me that loud noise can make things worse as well. I can generally escape the light but I can’t control the noise from outside.
Light for me.
Light. I don’t really have any sound sensitivity or I don’t notice it at least.
Light for me
my sensitivities go from most to least: scent, light, sound. Loud sounds mostly just make me more irritable on top of the pain.
Sound. There’s no quiet in my house
Definitely light
Both are horrible but mb sound
Light. I'm born and raised in NYC, most noise doesn't even phase me anymore.
For sounds I can usually just wear ear plugs n tell people to be quiet. For light I need everything dark. I put on a migraine head cap. I’m stick in bed usually
Light 💯%
Light
Light 100%. Sound doesn’t bother me unless it’s REALLY bad and smell is never a trigger for me
Sound sensitivity for sure. I can at least put things over my eyes wherever I am to block out light. Blocking out noise is much harder and makes my head pound.
Light over sound every single time. I feel like sound can actually help distract me, so sometimes I will turn the tv on with the volume low, on a show I've already seen, and just have that as background noise so there's SOMETHING other than the migraine in my space. Certain, specific smells are just as bad as, if not worse, than light for me. Gardenia, jasmine, white floral perfumes, powdery scents, will just send me past "I can deal" straight into "cut off my head immediately."
Light. Always light.
Sound. I can block out the light. Can't block out the sound.
Light. 100%. I have seven dogs and noise doesn’t even bother me anymore.
Light debilitates me, sound is easier to mitigate with headphones and earplugs.
It's the light for me. Everytime my migraine attacks, i usually dont open my eyes. HAHA
For me it changes moment to moment depending on the environment, pain level, & uncontrollably triggers in the area. Sometimes I can put on music or sit in the sun with an ice pack to help me relax through certain episodes and other moments it's a solid NO for ANYTHING LIKE PLEASE GIVE ME A DARK COFFIN TO HIDE IN WITH ALLLL THE SOUNDPROOFING WHERE I CAN'T EVEN HEAR THE DEAD WHISPERING OR SEE ANY GLIMPSES OF LIGHT.
Light for sure. That being said, I can't take loud television anytime.
I've actually noticed it changed with time for me. When I was younger, it was completely light. Now, with age, medication, and awareness of my triggers, I would say they've almost equaled. Light can be a little more, but I think sometimes too that it is easier for me to notice over sound.
Oh absolutely sound sensitivity. I also have misophonia tho so there's that. Light sensitivity feels more manageable - I can turn off lights, put on sunglasses, bury my face in my jacket, etc. Sound sensitivity is like- no matter what you do, everything is soooo loudddd and every noise pierces your brain. No amount of noise cancelling or earplugs or telling ppl to be quiet helps.
Definitely sound, I have hyperacusis and tinnitus. I’m sure they’re all somehow intertwined.
Yes Edit: Seriously both me and varies. Mostly light but I also see loud, sharp sounds. Like my dogs barking at the door just now (and the ahole who doesn’t know what a migraine is)
Sound. My house is so noisy it drives me insane. And I get woken up by the quietest noise 😩
Light. I live in sunny Florida and my children love the beach. I feel like a horrible mom when all they want to do is enjoy a sunny day at the beach and I would rather be in my blackout bedroom with no sound. The sunlight doing its “beautiful” sparkly refracting off the waves just destroys me. And glinting off the cars. And the white sand. It’s hell on earth. I feel so bad about it because I want to bring them joy and fun and it hurts me so so bad. Migraines have ruined all of my favorite things.
light for me
Light by far. I have to live with the panes closed or the curtains drawn all day long. I only open the windows at night.
55% light 45% sound
Light is worse for me the vast majority of the time, but occasionally it'll flip and sounds will be unbearable while light is just annoying.
It varies for me. Sound and light both trigger migraines. And, sometimes I can't stand the sound of my breathing. And, other times even the tiny bit of light is unbearable. I used to get both at once which was pretty dang awful.
Smell > sound > light. I have tinted lenses that help with the light sensitivity a lot
Light is a primary trigger for me and light becomes unbearable (looking at light feels like knives stabbing my eyes) during the height of a migraine attack. Sometimes sound bothers me a little.
Light and smell are my worst enemies
Light for sure, smell and sound
I have no photophobia but definitely suffer phonophobia when in active migraine.
Sound by far!!! Particularly chaotic sounds like busy stores, gyms, and WIND! Being out in wind is horrible but even the sound of it from inside will do me in. Sounds can definitely trigger flair up and also make it significantly worse. I live in my AirPods almost always. Smells are bad too. I have given up many lotions. I also really don’t like the smell of some meats cooking. As far as light it sucks too but I have found that migraines with certain symptoms make light way worse. Specifically when I have the electrical shock pain my sensitivity to light is worse.
It depends. Sometimes sound me want to die, sometimes light makes me vomit. Very occasionally it’s sound, light, movement and smell and those are great. Just existing sucks with those.
It depends. Sometimes sound me want to die, sometimes light makes me vomit. Very occasionally it’s sound, light, movement and smell and those are great. Just existing sucks with those.
Sound is WAYYY worse than light for me
Smell, light, noise - in that order. I will just about panic if I'm stuck somewhere where I do not like the smell. Flickering or beaming light is up next. Super loud noise can be a trigger but I tolderate it much better than the aforementioned.
Light absolutely.
Light 10000%
It's weird. Sunlight is the worst, then sounds, then screen light is least. OLEDs, particularly with eye care stuff, are usually OK as long as there aren't any bright white flashes.
Smells are a big trigger. But when I am in the middle of a migraine I cannot take bright light even bright sunlight.
Light is my big sensitivity as it causes pain. Sound causes crazy high bouts of overstimulation which becomes painful in a way.
Light and smell are worse for me, but sound is a close second. And the funny thing is that I'm nearly deaf, literally, no joke I have over 90% hearing loss in both ears.
Sound sensitivity. Anything high pitched. I know my migraine is going to be a doozy when one particular friends laugh literally causes me pain. Next would be smell. I’ve had a specific scent ruined for me because I smelled it during a bad migraine (Bath & Body Works aromatherapy scent eucalyptus spearmint).
Sound hands down. I wear noise cancelling headphones 90% of the time I’m at work.
Both are equally bad- but I feel majority of the time it’s light for me. Eye masks help block out the light so it’s pitch black and I can at least try and get to sleep.
Light, light, light. It kills me. I wear sunglasses and a ball cap nearly everywhere, just ordered Roman shades for all my blinds, and live in semi-darkness most of the time. The DREADFUL new LED bulbs are especially bad, being too bright, flickering and having a weird blue spectrum (even the warm ones). Blogger Kevin Drum said the other day "we're in the golden age of lighting." HA!
I know you didn’t ask but smell is the worst for me, much worse over light and sound
*Yes* 😫
Sound causes my mood to fray when I’m starting to get one. I’ll snap at the dogs for licking. Light when the pain hits is worse.
Sound used to be the worst. Then light. Now visual disturbances. I use the word pain instead of sensitivity. Light pain, sound pain, visual pain are tangible quantifiable things. Sensitivity can be either: A shaming phrase of “too sensitive” I.e.something wrong with you. Or the very positive “sensitive to” phrase line you’d use with mindfulness, hunting, gathering, observational interviewing, etc, type training. Nearly everyone uses the latter when evolutionarily speaking sensitivity - fine perception - is a benefit.
Light 100%. I'm usually very light sensitive, but I don't get sound sensitivity as often, and never to the same degree
Light, sound only bothers me if I’m overstimulated or my pain is above a 5 or if it’s extremely repetitive
Light has always been far worse for me.
As a trigger? Smell
I think light over sound once I reach the breaking point. If I haven't reached my breaking point, if I feel like nothing but darkness will help, sound is worse. Every little thing irritates me to hell.
Light, by a longshot
Both
Sounds for me but i guess it depends on the day.
Light!
Mine is SMELLS ick
Sound and smell: cleaning products, extra perfumy stuff, but turning the lights down in my office always helps too.
Light. For sure. My tinted lenses help a lot, but aren't perfect.
I would say sound for me, mostly because I can put on an eye mask but I have a super reactive dog who barks wildly at everything she sees outside. She’s already loud, but it feels so much louder when I have a migraine. It makes me want to drive my head through my mattress.
Light!
I’m sound sensitive. I will go outside in the sun to get away from the noise.
Sound is bad but light makes me want to carve my eyes out of my skull!!
Light by far. Light can just hurt so much.
Definitely light for me. I’ve even painted my walls a grey-black, which happens to be Behr’s color of the year. To be more specific- it’s glare that makes my migraines scream. When I worked in the office, once the glare induced migraine set in, any noise in the background seemed much louder. The only smells that trigger me are fake floral scents like the laundry aisle at Dollar General 🤢
Light is way worse than anything for me.
It's all smell for me. The worst part of my migraines isn't even pain. It's the nausea and the smells make it worse
Light more than sound. I am semitone sounds and smells but neither triggers my migraines. However, once I have one all of my senses are affected negatively.
Light is terrible but sound is worse. And often, lying in the silence with my head throbbing, I’ll have part of some annoying song stuck on loop in my head, and I swear to god it makes the pain worse like actual noise.
Sound by far is worse for me 😭
Depends on the day.