Epilepsy Talk

A menu of epilepsy auras…  | April 3, 2025

One of the good things about auras, is that if you’re aware of them, they’re effective (if unpleasant) warning signals of an oncoming seizure.

I didn’t learn to identify mine (mouth filling up with saliva and disgusting metallic taste) until I was well into my 20’s.

Then I added dark spots to my repertoire and I was having all three when I met my husband!

The good news is that once I recognized them, I would instinctively know to hit the floor (before the floor hit me) or find a safe place to weather out the storm.

The fact is: There are probably as many or more types of auras as there are types of epilepsy…

In short, an aura is a simple partial seizure, often followed by a larger event.

The feelings of the aura are often vague and many patients are unable to describe their features.

Auras can last from several seconds to more than an hour, and can sometimes end with feelings of extreme tiredness, weakness, heart palpitation, sweating and warmth throughout one’s body.

And some people can experience auras with no seizure(s).

Each and every person’s aura patterns are different.  They vary significantly between individuals.

Common warning signs right before seizures are changes in bodily sensations, changes in your ability to interact with things happening outside you, and changes in how familiar the outside world seems to you.

Other warning signs that may happen hours before a seizure are depression, irritability, sleep disruption, nausea, and headache.

People with complex partial seizures are the most likely to experience warning signs.

Approximately 55% to 65% of people with these seizures experience some type of aura.

It’s unclear whether having seizures that arise from one particular side of the brain makes you more likely to have auras than people whose seizures arise on the other side.

For lots of people, auras occur in an ordered progression.

First you may feel fear…then déjà vu (the feeling that you’ve been there before)…then a strange taste in your mouth.

The part of your brain where your seizures originate (your seizure focal point) also may be linked to a specific type of aura because an aura represents the beginning of a seizure.

Since different parts of the brain are responsible for different things, the warning signs you experience will be related to the functions of the section of brain where the seizure is about to occur.

People whose seizures begin in the temporal lobe tend to have certain types of auras and those whose seizures begin somewhere else often will have different types.

Here are some types of auras that can happen alone or in combinations…

Visual changes

Kaleidoscope effects

Visual hallucinations

Shimmering sensations

Vibrating visual field

Distortions in size, shape or distance of objects

Bright lights or blobs

Zigzag lines

Tunnel vision

Blind or dark spots in the field of vision

Curtain-like effect over one eye

Blindness in one eye

Motionless stare

Dilated pupils

Auditory changes

Hallucinations — hearing voices or sounds that don’t exist

Being unable to understand spoken words

Muffled sounds

Buzzing noises

Loud or whispered volume

Temporary deafness

Physical changes

Weakness, unsteadiness

Changes in heart rate

Sweating

Nausea

Vertigo

Saliva collecting in mouth

Lip smacking

Chewing

Swallowing

Strange smells

Problems speaking

Repetitive movements

Limbs jerking involuntarily

Numbness or tingling on one side of face or body

Feeling of being separated from your body

Needing to urinate

Psychological changes

Confusion

Anxiety or fear

Physical detachment

Déjà vu or jamais vu, a sense of familiarity or unfamiliarity

Keeping as seizure diary might help you track both your triggers and auras.

Like the Seizure Tracker. https://seizuretracker.com/ A tool for both you and your doctor.

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Resources:

Steven C. Schachter, M.D.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-is-a-seizure-aura#overview

https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/tm6354

https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/about-epilepsy-basics/what-happens-during-seizure

https://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/seizure-with-aura

https://www.verywell.com/what-is-an-aura-1204511

https://epilepsysociety.org.uk/about-epilepsy/what-epilepsy/epilepsy-auras#:~:text=An%20’aura’%20is%20the%20term,into%20another

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/a/auras.html

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