When people think of migraine, head pain is usually the first thing that comes to mind. But around 25–30% of people who have migraines experience an additional phase: aura.

Aura symptoms typically occur before the headache. Symptoms can vary significantly from person to person. Some people see flashing lights or blind spots. Others experience tingling, sound sensitivity, trouble speaking, or one-sided weakness.

These symptoms can be alarming to experience. They can also be surprisingly difficult to describe or recall accurately once the attack has passed.

We wrote this article to help you make sense of what you’re experiencing and communicate more clearly with your medical team. We also cover the most common symptoms, how migraine with aura can be managed, and when to see a doctor.

Let’s get into it.

What is migraine with aura?

Migraine with aura is a neurological condition characterized by temporary visual, sensory, motor, or speech symptoms before or during the active headache stage of a migraine.

Some people experience migraines more often than others, and aura symptoms can vary in type, severity, and duration.

Migraine with aura commonly occurs in four stages:

• Prodrome occurs between a few hours and a few days before the migraine episode. Prodromal symptoms can include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, excessive yawning, and specific food cravings.

• Aura occurs 5–60 minutes before the headache phase. In some people, aura symptoms continue into the headache phase or develop alongside head pain.

• Headache is the phase that migraine is widely known for. This phase can last for a few hours to several days. Symptoms include one-sided head pain, nausea, vomiting, and light and sound sensitivity. In rare cases, people experience migraine without the headache phase.

• Postdrome can linger for a few days after the headache has ended. Commonly referred to as a “migraine hangover,” people often experience increased fatigue and difficulty focusing during this time.

{{pro-tip-1}}

Symptoms of migraine aura

While no two attacks are exactly the same, aura symptoms generally fall into six recognized categories. You may experience symptoms from one or more groups, but these symptoms are temporary and fully resolve once the migraine episode has passed.

Visual auras

Visual aura symptoms are the most common. They occur in 98–99% of all cases of migraine with aura.

Symptoms can range in severity, type, and duration. Examples include:

• Flashing bright lights in the vision
• Foggy or blurred vision
• Zigzag of jagged lines
• Blind spots
• Black dots
• Flickering lights
• Visual snow
• Tunnel vision

Sensory auras

Sensory aura symptoms include:

• Ringing in the ears
• Hearing loss
• Sound sensitivity
• Numbness and tingling in the face, arms, or legs
• Hypersensitivity to odors
• Smelling strong scents that aren’t present
• The sudden sensation of being touched or grabbed

Motor auras

Motor aura symptoms primarily refer to one-sided muscle weakness. This is very rare, but it’s the defining feature of hemiplegic migraine.

With this type of migraine, the one-sided muscle weakness completely resolves after the migraine episode.

Because this symptom can closely resemble a stroke, it can be frightening to experience and often requires careful medical assessment to rule out other possible causes.

Speech/language auras

Speech and language aura symptoms are less common. Examples include:

• Difficulty speaking 
• Slurred speech
• Difficulty understanding others

Brainstem auras

People with basilar migraines experience specific brainstem symptoms. Basilar migraine is a type of migraine with aura believed to be caused by irregular nerve firing in the brainstem.

Brainstem aura symptoms commonly impact balance and coordination. Examples of symptoms include:

• Vertigo
• Slow speech
• Loss of coordination
• Confusion
• Loss of consciousness

Retinal auras

Retinal aura symptoms are rare and affect vision in only one eye. They can include blind spots, flashing or shimmering lights, zigzag patterns, or temporary vision loss in the affected eye. In most cases, the same eye is affected from attack to attack.

If you experience retinal aura symptoms, it may point toward a rare subtype of migraine called retinal migraine (sometimes called ocular migraine).

What causes migraine auras?

The exact cause of migraine aura is not well understood, but it is thought to involve a temporary wave of reduced electrical activity that spreads across parts of the brain.

Many people who experience auras have known triggers that increase the risk of an episode. Some of the most common triggers include:

• Stress
• Poor sleep or changes in sleep patterns
• Bright lights
• Hormonal changes, including menstruation, ovulation, and pregnancy
• Missing meals
• Caffeine
• Weather changes
• Strong smells
• Neck pain
• Certain noises, including low- or high-frequency sounds
• Alcohol
• Heat
• Particular foods, including aged cheese, red wine, chocolate, and processed meats
• Exercise

When is it time to take your aura symptoms seriously?

Migraine auras can be incredibly scary and overwhelming, especially if you haven’t figured out your specific triggers yet.

Every migraine is different, so knowing when to take your symptoms seriously can be challenging. As a general rule of thumb, you should speak to your doctor about your aura symptoms if:

• It’s your first time experiencing them.
• They are different from your usual symptoms.
• They last longer than expected.
• They don’t completely resolve after the migraine has passed.
• You experience one-sided muscle weakness, speech changes, or visual changes that concern you.

Diagnosing migraine with aura

Doctors don’t use a single test to diagnose migraine with aura. Instead, diagnosis depends on their assessment of your symptoms and past episodes.

To be diagnosed with migraine with aura, your doctor will determine whether:

• You have had at least two attacks that feature symptoms from 1 or more of the 6 categories (visual, sensory, speech/language, motor, brainstem, retinal).
• Your migraine episodes feature at least 3 of the following 6 characteristics:
  
  • At least one aura symptom spreads gradually over 5 minutes.
  • Two or more aura symptoms occur in succession.
  • Individual aura symptoms last 5–60 minutes.
  • At least one aura symptom is one-sided.
  • At least one aura symptom involves a new sensation.
  • The aura is accompanied by, or followed within 60 minutes, by headache.

Because diagnosis is based on your symptom history rather than a blood test or scan, tracking each episode can make a real difference. Recording when your aura begins, how long it lasts, which symptoms occur, and whether a headache follows helps you give your doctor a more complete and accurate picture of your condition. 

How you can manage migraine with aura

There is no cure for migraine with aura, nor is there a definitive way to prevent it from happening.

Managing aura symptoms usually involves a combination of lifestyle adjustments and medications (where they are safe and appropriate for you).

Lifestyle adjustments and symptom tracking

Many people find that factors such as poor sleep, dehydration, missed meals, stress, hormonal changes, or certain foods make attacks more likely. While triggers are not always consistent, keeping a symptom diary can help you identify patterns.

Symptom tracking is especially important for migraine with aura. Visual changes, tingling, speech difficulties, and other aura symptoms can feel vivid and memorable in the moment, but the details are often tricky to recall later.

Recording what you experienced while it’s still fresh can help you build a clearer picture of your symptoms and provide your doctor with more accurate information when discussing diagnosis and treatment.

Medications for migraine with aura

If attacks are frequent, severe, or significantly affect your quality of life, your doctor may recommend medications to help manage symptoms during an attack or reduce how often they occur.

Migraine medications are broken down into two categories: preventative and rescue.

Important note: Not all medications are recommended for all types of migraine. It’s vital to work closely with your medical team to work out what treatment is safe for you.

Rescue medications

Because aura often develops before the headache stage of a migraine, it can act as an early warning sign that an attack is beginning.

While rescue medications do not usually stop aura symptoms themselves, taking them early may help reduce the severity of the headache and other migraine symptoms that follow.

Preventative medications

If migraines are severe and getting in the way of your daily life, your doctor may recommend taking preventive medications. These may help reduce the frequency and severity of episodes.

Examples include:

• Antidepressants, like amitriptyline (Elavil®) and venlafaxine (Effexor®)
• Calcium channel blockers, like verapamil (prescribed in the US) and flunarizine (more common across Europe and Canada)‍
• Antiseizure medications, like topiramate (Topamax®) and sodium valproate (Depakote®)‍
• Beta blockers, like propranolol (Inderal®) and metoprolol (Lopressor®)

Track your aura symptoms

With or without aura symptoms, migraines can be complicated to manage and understand. It’s a potentially debilitating condition that can seriously affect your quality of life.

While aura symptoms are often unpleasant, they can also provide valuable information about your migraine attacks. The difficulty is that while they are vivid in the moment, remembering and describing them accurately later on can be challenging.

That’s why many people who experience aura find symptom tracking helpful, using tools like the Human Health app. You can write down what you felt or saw, how long it lasted, and any other symptoms or sensations you experienced

Over time, this data will create patterns that can be shared with your medical team to help ensure you’re getting the best care for you.

{{inline-cta-1}}

Frequently asked questions

What does a migraine aura look like?

Some common visual aura symptoms include sudden flashes of light, zigzag patterns in the vision, wavy or shimmering lines, or blind spots that can move and grow during the episode. 

Is aura always followed by a headache?

In some rare cases (around 4% of people with migraines), head pain does not follow aura symptoms. This is silent migraine, also known simply as “migraine aura without headache.”

Is migraine with aura the same thing as an ocular migraine?

The term “ocular migraine” can be misleading. Some people use it to refer to migraine with aura. Others use it to refer to retinal migraine.

Headache specialists no longer use the term, preferring to use more specific language.

Disclaimer: Human Health is a health tracking platform and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The information in this guide is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical care. Always consult your doctor or healthcare provider with questions about your health.

Sources:

1. Migraine with aura (2024)
2. Migraine, The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
3. Understanding migraine with aura, The American Migraine Foundation
4. What does a migraine aura look like? — A systematic review (2025)
5. Clinical features of visual migraine aura: a systematic review (2019)
6. Multisensory Hallucinatory Experiences in Migraine (2023)
7. Hemiplegic migraine, (2023)
8. Clinical features of migraine with aura: a REFORM study (2024)
9. Basilar migraine (2023)
10. Retinal migraine headache (2023)
11. Migraine headache (2024)
12. Migraine with aura, The International Classification of Headache Disorders
13. Migraine, Mayo Clinic
14. Aura without headache, The American Migraine Foundation