Disruptive sensory input seems to trigger migraine in many people. Anything that confuses or stresses our sense of sight, sound, or smell has the potential to bring on the neurological changes that are the start of a migraine attack. While taste or touch triggers do not seem to be common, both taste and touch sensation can be altered during the course of a migraine. Also, environmental factors that involve these senses, such as the foods you eat and temperature changes you encounter, are migraine triggers. This leaves open the possibility that taste and touch centers in the brain may somehow be involved in how migraine attacks develop.

Migraineurs have an increased sensitivity to bright or flickering lights, certain colors, and pattern glare. Pattern glare is visual stress caused by a hypersensitivity to repetitive patterns, such as a checker-board. High contrast (e.g., black and white) patterns are often associated with pattern glare. All of these visual events can be triggers for headache, and they also can worsen the intensity of a migraine attack. This sensitivity to visual stimuli is called photophobia.

Fluorescent and incandescent lighting can be too bright, and fluorescent lighting (which includes those energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs) also generates a high-frequency flicker some migraineurs are susceptible to. Try low-wattage bulbs labeled “soft light,” and don't leave bulbs exposed to the eye. A heavier light shade or opaque or dark light fixture filter may also be helpful for migraine avoidance in some people.

Screen flicker or excessive glare from a computer monitor can also precipitate a migraine attack. Try adjusting your color and contrast settings to reduce glare. Some computers allow alteration of the monitor screen frequency to minimize flicker; talk to a computer professional about making these changes.

Loud and/or persistent noise may also bring about migraine attacks in some people. Some people have a particular sensitivity to high-decibel or high-frequency sounds. This sensitivity to sound, or phonophobia, continues through a migraine attack, which is why many migraineurs seek quiet places to recover.

Whether it's a result of chemicals found in fumes or a reaction to scent, exposure to certain odors can cause migraine in some people. This sensitivity to odors can range from traditionally “pleasant” but strong smells like perfumes and scented candles, to fumes from chemicals, secondhand smoke, pollution, and automobile exhaust. A 2004 study of Atlanta-based migraineurs found that smell was a migraine trigger in close to half of study subjects. Pungent odors are the most likely to become migraine triggers.