How Sound Sensitivity Can Turn Everyday Noise Into a Migraine Trigger

What if the sounds everyone else ignores, the dishwasher, traffic, voices, music, or even someone chewing, feel painfully loud to your migraine brain?

In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, host Diane Ducarme explores why sound sensitivity is not being dramatic, fragile, or difficult. It may be a sign that your nervous system is already overwhelmed, sensitized, or moving toward a migraine attack.

We look at sound sensitivity through both Western neuroscience and Eastern medicine, helping you understand why everyday noise can feel like too much — and what your body may be trying to tell you.

You’ll discover:

💡 Why normal sounds can feel intense, painful, or unbearable when you live with migraine

💡 How Western medicine explains sound sensitivity through the migraine brain and nervous system sensitization

💡 How Eastern medicine connects hearing, sound tolerance, and the deeper reserves of the body

This episode will help you stop blaming yourself for being “too sensitive” and start seeing sound sensitivity as an important signal from your body.

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References:

• Ictal and Interictal Phonophobia in Migraine — A Quantitative Controlled Study (Ashkenazi et al., 2009): This study examines sound sensitivity during and between migraine attacks, showing how phonophobia can reflect altered sensory processing in migraine. Read more here.
• Phonophobia in Migraine (Main, Dowson, & Gross, 1997): This paper explores sound sensitivity in migraine and how everyday noise may become uncomfortable or painful for people living with migraine. Read more here.
• International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition (International Headache Society): This classification provides the standard diagnostic criteria for migraine, including phonophobia as one of the key associated symptoms. Read more here.
• Multiple Sensory Hypersensitivities and Headache-Related Disability in Migraine (Suzuki et al., 2021): This study explores how sensitivity to light, sound, and smell can overlap in migraine and may be associated with greater headache-related disability. Read more here.
• Central Sensitization in Migraine (Ornello et al., 2021): This review explains how repeated or amplified pain signaling can make the migraine brain more sensitive to sensory input, touch, and pain. Read more here.
• Cutaneous Allodynia as Predictor for Treatment Response in Chronic Migraine (Caratozzolo et al., 2023): This study explores how touch sensitivity in chronic migraine may help predict treatment response and reflect central sensitization. Read more here.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for providing medical advice. Always consult your healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

For women, men, and children who suffer from migraine disease, Migraine Heroes is your go-to resource for understanding, managing, and overcoming migraine attacks.

We cover all types of migraines and related headaches, including primary and secondary migraines, chronic migraines, and cluster migraines. We dive deep into the complexities of migraine with aura and migraine without aura, as well as rarer forms like hemiplegic migraine, retinal migraine, and acephalgic migraine (silent migraine). Our discussions also extend to cervicogenic headaches, ice pick headaches, and pressure headaches, which often mimic migraine or contribute to overall migraine burden.