What is this burning smell aura before a migraine or seizure?

[Charles57]

I’ve been experiencing these brief, intense waves of a burning smell that nobody else notices, and my neurologist mentioned it could be a type of aura. It’s unsettling because there’s no obvious source and it lasts just a minute, leaving me feeling a bit disconnected right after. Has anyone else had this specific sensory experience before a migraine or seizure?

[RichardT]

I’ve had something like that too, a brief burning smell that shows up before what I’d call a migraine. It’s sharp, lasts about a minute, then I’m a bit spacey for a while. It did feel like an aura to me, and it was unsettling because nobody else noticed it.

[Jason_M]

For me it came with a quick whiff of burning plastic or metal, then a tense moment and maybe a small headache. It happened a few times, and I started keeping a tiny log of when it happened, what I ate, sleep hours, hoping to see a pattern.

[Andrew.L]

Is the smell actually the signal, or could it be something else like stress?

[Avery_W]

I did a little test: I stepped outside for fresh air, drank water, and sat with dim light for a minute. Sometimes the wave passed, sometimes not. It’s hard to tell what helps.