Twice, on long flights (greater than 4 hours) when wearing BOSE noise cancelling headphones I have had acute onset, splitting migraines - to the point of nausea and vomitting. Maxalt did help. I am trying to figure out if the trigger is flying, long flight, or the headphones which seem to work by changing the pressure in my head. Regular earplugs do not seem to cause the same headaches although I am nervous about truly figuring this out :) Thank you for any help you can give me.
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Q: Is there any corelation between noise cancelling headphones, flying and acute onset of migraines?
Answers (5)
1/ 8/09 1:41pm
NK,
Although I've never heard of headphones triggering Migraines, I certainly can't say it's not possible.
Flying is a trigger for many of us becuase of the altitude and changes in pressure.
I use the Bose headphones when I fly, and they've not bothered me, but we're all different, so I don't know if that tells you much.
Sorry I couldn't give you more specific inforamtion. You might want to mention this to your doctor the next time you have an appointment.
Teri
7/13/10 1:00pm
Noise Cancelling headphones sometimes generate low-frequency audio waves which
make the brain think that the head is moving. This sensation can cause motion sickness or dizziness. See link below:
http://gizmodo.com/355678/noise+canceling-headphones-might-make-you-motion-sick
10/ 9/11 10:38pm
After having twins, I began wearing headphones at night while watching dvd's, so as not to wake them. The sound level was low to moderate, and this practice went on nightly for 3 years. I began getting very strange headaches during the day- pressure in my skull that would pop up in different regions of my head momentarily. This went on for a few weeks before I made the connection. I stopped using the headphones, and the headaches stopped immediately. I think we humans don't know what we're messing with in using these electronic gadgets close to our brains.
10/10/11 6:57am
A follow up note....I called BOSE and the employee told me that while there was no empirical data on headaches being caused by the headphones, he HAS heard of others experiencing the same phenomena. This is an easy trigger to avoid.
10/10/11 10:00am
In my case, I can't fly without noise canceling headphones!
They keep me from having anxiety and migraines!
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