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Journal Article

Citation

Miller EE, Grosberg BM, Crystal SC, Robbins MS. Cephalalgia 2014; 35(10): 923-930.

Affiliation

Montefiore Headache Center, Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA marobbin@montefiore.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0333102414563088

PMID

25480808

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to describe auditory hallucinations (paracusias) associated with migraine attacks to yield insights into their clinical significance and pathogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Isolated observations have documented rare associations of migraine with auditory hallucinations. Unlike visual, somatosensory, language, motor, and brainstem symptoms, paracusias with acute headache attacks are not a recognized aura symptom by the International Headache Society, and no systematic review has addressed this association.

METHODS: We retrospectively studied patients experiencing paracusias associated with migraine at our center and in the literature.

RESULTS: We encountered 12 patients (our center = 5, literature = 7), 58% were female, and 75% had typical migraine aura. Hallucinations most commonly featured voices (58%), 75% experienced them during headache, and the duration was most often <1 hour (67%). No patients described visual aura evolving to paracusias. Most patients (50%) had either a current or previous psychiatric disorder, most commonly depression (67%). The course of headache and paracusias were universally congruent, including improvement with headache prophylaxis (58%).

CONCLUSION: Paracusias uncommonly co-occur with migraine and usually feature human voices. Their timing and high prevalence in patients with depression may suggest that paracusias are not necessarily a form of migraine aura, though could be a migraine trait symptom. Alternative mechanisms include perfusion changes in primary auditory cortex, serotonin-related ictal perceptual changes, or a release phenomenon in the setting of phonophobia with avoidance of a noisy environment.


Language: en

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