Exploding Head Syndrome – Causes, Symptoms, Treatment
What is Exploding Head Syndrome?
Exploding Head Syndrome is a rare undocumented type of parasomnia. The person having Exploding Head Syndrome will typically experience a sudden bang which is loud in their head like those heard during an explosion of a bomb or a clash of cymbals or a gun that has gone off. It features a noise that is indecipherable that originates inside the person’s head.
Yet, contrary to its name, this syndrome experiences no swelling or pain or is associated with any physical characteristics. The sound that they hear comes from one’ sown head and is not a yielding of a dream. It is reported to attack when during the times that the person is wide awake or perhaps two hours after the person falls asleep. The noise eventually wears off as the person suddenly wakes up. It affects women and men who are 50 years of age and above and as young as 10 years old have been reported to experience such syndrome. This kind of disorder is not at all harmful or dangerous.
History
The first one to describe the exploding head syndrome was Robert Armstrong-Jones. He was a psychiatrist as well as a Welsh Physician. He described the syndrome way back 1920. He said that this condition has an exploding kind of sensation felt in the person’s head. When patient’s experience the exploding head syndrome, they sometimes woke up from their sleep and the reported that such loud noises they hear persist for about several seconds. It was John M.S. Pearce during 1989, who gave the detailed syndrome description. He also observed that patients who reported to have this kind of parasomnia syndrome were at the age of 50 years and above.
Symptoms, Signs
The person who experiences exploding head syndrome will manifest the following symptoms and signs:
- Loud noise in his or her head such as gunshot, explosion, roar, door slamming or the like
- Video static flash of light
- Palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Buzzing sensation
- Panic episodes
- Insomnia
Causes & Risk Factors
The etiological reasons of why exploding head syndrome happens are quite perplexing. Up to this point, the exact reason is still unknown. Yet some physicians and psychologist reported that the following cause may lead to experiencing such syndrome:
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Stress
- Damage to the brain’s nerve cells
- Muscle jerk or twitch
- Damage to the temporal lobe
- Quick and sudden movement of the patient’ s middle ear
- Sometimes a sharp stabbing pain is felt (rare)
- In addition to that persons who fall over the age of 50 and under the age of 10 usually are at risk for having the exploding head syndrome.
Diagnosis
In diagnosing persons with exploding head syndrome, the physician or the psychologist for that matter, follows a step by step diagnostic approach, which is as follows:
- Medical History Examination to determine the history of when and how often it occurs. Most usually the bed partner are the source of the information
- Physical Examination to know any physical disorders brought about the condition
- Overnight polysomnography or PSG this kind of devise is particularly use with persons having a kind of parasomnia. It is an exam to test the sleep, a multi parametric type of exam which is beneficial in the study of the person’s sleeping behavior. It is often use as a diagnostic examination tool in the medicine sleep.
- EEG or Electroencephalograms which usually records the attacks and reveals the activities which are abnormal. It also is used to rule out seizures due to epilepsy.
- Urine Drug Screening Examination is also done to rule out the possibility of drug or substance abuse.
Treatment
In treating a person with exploding head syndrome, he or she must do the following:
- Go to the Doctor– By going to the doctor, the person is given the assurance that this is not a dangerous or harmful disease. Also, it will also help in diagnosing the problem or the condition that the person experiences. Since only the doctor are allowed to diagnose such kind of syndrome through conducting the following diagnostic measures.
- Control your Stress– One possible causative factor of persons who experience exploding head syndrome is that they are in constant stress. You can do stress relief therapy by doing relaxation exercise such as engaging into yoga exercises or having hot water baths or perhaps psychotherapy
- Keep a sleep journal- This is a good way to record the experiences you have and it is a way to keep track of the syndrome.
- Avoid fatigue Episodes– According to studies conducted, parasomnias such as exploding head syndrome happens when persons are physically exhausted. You can avoid fatigue episodes by trying to get an ample amount of sleep per day. The recommended hours of sleep are eight hours per day.
- Medications– If the above tips do not work, you can ask your physician to prescribe you a medication. Medications usually prescribed in persons with exploding head syndromes are the medications under the antidepressant classification and an example of this medication is Clomipramine, which is a Tricyclic class of antidepressant medication that treats this kind of syndrome.
- Be Patient– Most often, this kind of parasomnia resolves over time. In no time, the syndrome recedes. It takes for about days to years for the symptoms to eventually vanish.
Prevention
The only way to prevent the occurrence of exploding head syndrome is do the following activities:
- Sleep more often and avoid sleep deprivation. The appropriate number of sleep is 6 to 8 hours.
- Eat a healthy balance diet. Studies show that when a person consumes a healthy and balance diet, it will lead to having a healthy night sleep.
- Relax. There is no need to panic. The noises you hear are just in the mind.
- Take deep breaths whenever you are in panic mode. It helps you relax and loosen up a bit
- Reduce stress by reading your favorite book, go swimming or other kinds of stress reduction activities.
Through doing such helpful tips, it will help you in preventing such syndrome to occur.
I had these exploding head syndrome before. Mu physician traced it to my stress because I usually live a fast paced life. When i started relaxation techniques, it went away without any medications.
Hi, Mike! If you read this, please contact me via m.celmina@gmail.com. I`m writing a paper about Exploding head syndrome and I want to ask you a few questions. I would help me to graduate from school this year, so, yeah, its something big!
Mine are like a cymbal crashing. I suspect it is related to tinnitus & the inner ear.
What are the relaxation techniques used for preventing exploded head syndrome
When I heard about this disease, I thought that it would literally cause abnormal increase in the pressure of the head that may lead to actual explosion of the head as we see in car accidents. Well, thanks to this article, I get to know more about this condition. It really helps me with my homework.
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I had this happen to me after a surgery. I ran a grouphome / I was sleep deprived and big time stressed out. All symptoms listed. I was just dozing off . Waking up to my thought was big silverware slaming on floor. I woke up screaming it was so loud.i did tell anyone thought I was dreaming.i was afraid to go to sleep. I don’t work now .less stress. I sleep .still insomnia .but better
I just had my 4th episode last night. It’s weird because it’s such an abnormal thing to have happen yet I’m not freaked out by it. Getting an EEG next week. The first one was like a bomb going off and I saw lights. The last one sounded like a gun and I saw lights. Very freaky. I’m 28, so it can happen at any age. I stress a lot. Take Xanax. Maybe that’s why? I’m also effected by EMF.
I first started having the “explosions” when I was in my teens and always right as I was falling asleep. It doesn’t happen frequently. It could be once and then not again for weeks or months afterwards. Occasionally I will get two in one night or one within days of each other. However, my “explosions” sound like huge explosions (and not like gunshots or other sounds other people have described) and are always accompanied by an extremely bright/blinding light in my head and my entire body ‘jerks’. There is no pain involved. I am now in my fities and still have the ‘explosions’. They never concerned me enough to mention it to a doctor. I don’t believe mine are caused by stress or fatigue since many of them occur on days when I have had completely relaxing, stress free, (and rested) days. (And I do not and have never taken medication/drugs besides the occasional aspirin).
Hi Sylvia.
You are the only other person I know of who experiences the body ‘jerks’. I hear electricity in my head and my whole body jerks. I usually do an involuntary yell as well. One night my poor dog got kicked off the bed. As with you there is no pain involved and it doesn’t bother me at all. This has been happening for some years and again, as with you, I might experience a couple for a few days and then not have any bouts for months. I have never taken ‘recreation’ drugs. Thanks for your contribution.
I have had this for years now approx 4yrs I’m 55 now. I hear a loud boom like a bomb going off. Last night it happened twice first time I heard tapping on my front door and jumped out of bed to see who was there, but of course it was no one, then this morning about 09.30 I heard my front door being unlocked then someone coming and closing the door, but not locking it. Thinking one of my girls had gone out early but had forgotten to lock the door i got up to lock it. Of course it as locked and both girls were in bed. It’s a really strange experience because it seems so real. Maybe I should watch less crime related programs, I think !y brain must be on high alert when I go to bed.
Im 18 and experience this too, so it must be that all ages can be at risk for this. I dont take any medications/drugs, I’m relatively stress free however i do suffer from severe anxiety, depression and mild PTSD. The sound is like a loud air horn going straight into my ear, and is usually accompanied by a person in the dream trying to get my attention or trying to wake me up. This usually happens while I’m in deep sleep. I also sometimes get sleep paralysis (rarely, though) and random jerks or twitches right before i fall asleep regularly.
My exploding head feeling occurred late at night after a week in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and a 2-day car trip to the Grand Canyon. I was home following a flight through a bad storm and may have been a bit stressed. It was the first time for me and I had thoughts of stroke or aneurysm but it only lasted a couple of seconds and I was ok when I got up and moved around. Weird feeling followed but there was no headache…only slightly as I laid my head on the pillow. Then BANG like a gunshot!.
I started experiencing the EHS after I fell on a sidewalk striking my head on the pavement. I felt my brain strike the right side of my skull. I would sleep for 14 hours of the day. I couldn’t wake up. Next I experienced flashing lights when leaving a lighted room and entering a darken room. Then came the loud noises in my head, during sleep (booming, yelling, crashes). This was terrifying. I determined that the noises only occurred when I would sleep on the right side — the side where my brain hit up against my skull in the fall. After three years it is still an ongoing problem if I accidentally sleep on the right side. It never happens when sleeping on the left side. I expect a nerve was damaged during the fall. I am glad to learn from this article that this problem is not serious, but it certainly is frightening. My neurologist prescribed lyrica but I am afraid to take it.
I have been having these explosions off and on for a month or so had one last night and stayed up for hours afterwards now today I am feeling light headed and woozy kinda like a drunk feeling also having a bad head ach and ear ach also do you think just asking should I go to the doctor
Yes, absolutely!
Hello, my name is Elizabeth, and I’ve had this so called “head explosion syndrome” for the past four years and they seem to get worse as I become older. I become agitated and angry because I can’t go back to sleep. I take Xanax and Seroquel but the symptoms are still there. I began putting pieces of ear wax to avoid listening to any noise, but that doesn’t work either. I’m starting to wish I was literally death. I feel like one of these war veterans who continue to relive their combats back in the war zone. No wonder we have so many of them commit suicide. The noise is so unbearable I want to blow my ears off.
Same happens to me had them on and off for years had about4last night I’m absolutely shattered and have awful headache some times I have awful jerks been known to whack myself in face it’s frightening it makes you frightened to sleep and the explosions do hurt me
I only recently started experiencing this. I also have a sharp pain in the very top of my head when it happened. It’s been happening 4-5 times a night for a few weeks now. Since then I have this hung over drunk type feeling as well. I have lupus sle and I am wondering if the chronic fatigue is to blame.
I used to have something like this when I was younger- around 10 or so- but it wasn’t a loud bang or explosion, it was like the “static” sound from the TV but extremely loud and I couldn’t usually see well. It was always at night, either right before I fell asleep or it would wake me up in the middle of the night. I remember feeling terrified and trying to cry, but unable to make a noise. All I could do was wait until it went away and I could go back to sleep. I’m almost 18 now and I haven’t experienced it since the 1-2 years it went on. No idea what could have caused it, since I was pretty happy as a kid, though I have always had insomnia off and on.
That is what happend to me. I felt ill in the morning and stayd at home. I went to sleep but wen i woke up a loud static noise was in my head also i had a hard time breathing and i could only see static. Wheni rried to talk i didnt make any noise yet i heard my self talking in hiigh pitch in my head.
For me it’s every night and sometimes during the day.I have been very stressed out due to current life stressors .ie upcoming surgery (pelvic prolapse) and moving along with the death of a family member and every day life stress. I find it hard to sleep and when my body wants to sleep I’ll fight it. That’s when the exploding head starts! I get bangs and almost like people yelling my name or just yelling. Sometimes it’s just inaudible or doesn’t make sense but sounds like a voice. I also hear objects dropping or hitting just a lot of (NOISE ) I also have tittinitus but can most def. tell the difference because tittinitus is a kind of string high pitch squeal that never goes away almost like a million locust in your ear canal. This EHS on the other hand can be alsot startling at times and almost like being haunted by a ghost lol if you didn’t know better.At first I thought I must be going crazy I’m. Glad I’m not but now I wonder if it will ever go away because it can be scary at times.
I had my first HES a few weeks ago. I was reading, dosed off and when I woke, it felt like my head exploded. I saw red, my jaw dropped and my teeth clattered(I do not have dentures) I thought I was having a stroke. I am 83 years young .I am also a retired nurse .I checked all signs for a stroke, and had none. I did feel tired after this episode. I saw my dentist for a cleaning last week and he said I Had to have the old crown removed. I saw the dentist. The tooth had to be removed. I had a fracture. The tooth could no be saved. The crown had no signs of fracture. I finally shared my HES with him which he never heard of. I guess I will never know if This was from HES
I have been having these spells for about 5 years…the first one was like someone hit me in the head with a 2×4..i thought someone was in my house…most of them are different, I will list a few….electric short and loud explosion…a vivious dog was eating my face and half gone. every unreal thing you can thing of….I went to dr. and was sent to a head dr. for many test and neither doctor never heard of it or did not know a cure…..sometimes I can feel them coming down the hall and am immediately hit with some type of explosion….no pain, no after pain, I get plenty of sleep, too much at times….makes no difference….I had one last night, first in several months…they used to be 2-3 times a week. As I keep having them they seem much worse and very intence…..I am 83 and have Copd , lost part of a lung to cancer, I wear oxigen 24-7. I keep thinking one of these are going to take me on out. but they say they are not dangerous…but they feel that way…..I pray to My LORD and JESUS DAILY AND I HAVE FAITH that he will give me air and a cure to this madness….thanks for reading my post….no sympathy wanted……..
I’ve been having the loud booms in my head for the last sixteen years. I had fallen in a parking lot and struck the left side of my head. My Neurologist said I damaged three nerves to the point where they died and took over a year to grow back. Shortly after the injury I started hearing loud booms or sometimes a noise like a car crash inside my head. I’d ask my family if they heard it and they would always say no. They tapered off for awhile but they started coming back more frequently within the last year. My Doctor couldn’t find anything about this problem. I just read an article in Readers Digest that mentioned exploding head syndrome so I googled it and found this site. I usually have it in the daytime when I’m awake. I’m glad I’m not the only one! This info has made me feel a lot better. I’m really not crazy! Thank you!
Hello, I would like to express my thoughts. I have PPMS and SLE. I rest at night and nap some during the day. I had these diagnoses for some time and have learned not to stress, there are problems that I can’t control. I follow the medical journals . The exploding head is horrible!! I sympathize with all of you. I have episodes and jerk awake with a spasm from he**, oh yeah, with a scream to go with it. I retired way before I wanted as a retired nurse, I believe there is a reason for everything that happens. The theory that nerve cell damage may be the main cause. The phrase “it’s all in your head” sounds so dismissive. Yes, it’s in our heads, but there IS something besides stress and fatigue that cause this problem. I will continue searching for a cause that definitively explains. I hope that you will continue watching the medical journals with me, I am not saying that physicians are incorrect in saying , “it is in our heads” but as all of us know it happens even we have none of reasons that are hypothesized.
I woke up one morning and my head exploded on the inside and my head jerked back. It hurt an awfully lot.
I had my first experience last night it sounded like a gun going off, today I have had a strange feeling on the left side of my face near my eye.x
I had my first experience of this last night I told my husband it sounded like a gun going off, today I have had a strange feling on the left side of my face near my eye and feeling lightheaded.x
I’ve had body jerks that felt like my body lofted off the bed, but the head explosions are a whole new thing!! I have only had then for a month, the two I had last night were like a tremendous bolt of lightening accompanied by angry ???? thunder!!!! Out was horrifying!! I’m a 65 year-old female. After researching my symptoms today, it’s somewhat of a relief to know how benign they are!! God bless us all as we deal with this as get answers!!
I have had this issue for years. I worked in a hospital and asked ?s about the symptoms I was having. No one had a clue. My experience is a buzzing sound while my body starts to tremor as if it was a seizure but I can see in my head lightning approaching or striking me as I awake with a scream and a sweat. I have to say that although it doesn’t harm me; it sure does feel real. The rest of the household is disturbed and come running wondering if I’m ok. Many times it is even frightful trying to get back to sleep without a repeat performance.
I am not a drinker by any stretch, but x1 glass of red wine significantly reduces the severity of the EHS
I am almost three years post TBI, and one mild concussion this past December. I see flashing lights on occasion since the TBI, but have heard explosions in my head since December. The explosions do not always sound the same, and one time it felt like I was having a seizure (not something I deal with). Anyone else have this (different sounds/sensations)?
I DON’T EVEN WANT ANYBODY TO KNOW WHO I AM, BUT I CAN TELL YOU FOR SURE THAT I HAVE THIS CONDITION AND I HAVE HAD IT ALL MY LIFE. I WAS VERY YOUNG AND MY FIRST MEMORY OF THIS TYPE OF EVENT WAS I REMEMBER HAVE A DREAM. I WAS VERY SMALL BECAUSE I WAS SLEEPING WITH MY MOTHER. I REMEMBER BEING AWAKE AND ASLEEP AT THE SAME TIME BEGGING HER TO MAKE THEM STOP BREAKING MY HEAD. AS I REMEMBER WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A DREAM, I ONLY SEE BRIGHT LIGHT AND THINKING MY HEAD WAS BEING CRACKED OPEN BY SOMEONE I COULDN’T SEE. OVER THE YEARS I HAVE HAD SUDDEN MOMENTS OF THINKING THAT A SECTION OF MY SKULL JUST CRACKED OFF WHILE I WAS WIDE AWAKE. I HAVE HAD MOMENTS WHERE I THOUGHT I HAD JUST BEEN SHOT IN THE HEAD. THROUGHOUT MY LIFE, MY MOTHER THOUGHT THESE WERE VISIONS OR DREAMS. SHE WOULD BE WORRIED AND HOLD ME PRAYING UNTIL IF FELL BACK TO SLEEP. MY MEMORY OF THE INCIDENTS ARE NOT THERE. I ONLY REMEMBER THINKING MY SKULL WAS BROKEN. THERE WERE MANY YEARS THAT I DID NOT HAVE AN INCIDENT. RECENTLY IN MY 50’S I HAVE STARED TO HAVE THE EXPLOSIONS WHILE SLEEING. I’M ALSLEEP. I HEAR WHAT SEEMS LIKE A GUNSHOT WHERE THAT IS A CLUMPS OF A FLASH OF BRIGHT LIGHT. I WAKE UP AND THE HOUSE IS QUIET, MY DOG (TWO ENLISH MASSTIFF’S, A TEA-CUP POODLE, A MALTESE, AND A MIN SCHNAUZER) ARE UN-ALARMED. MY BOYFRIEND SLEEPING NEXT TO ME IS STILL ASLEEP. THESE DOGS AND MY BOYFRIEND ARE THE ONLY THINGS THAT INDICATE TO ME THAT WHATEVER HAPPENDED WAS IN MY HEARD. IT DOES BOTHER ME THAT I’M HAVING THIS, BUT I KNOW THAT IF THERE WAS A SOUND IN MY HOUSE, OR NEAR MY HOUSE, MY DOGS WOULD GO CRAZY. TO FIND THEM ALL ASLEEP, IS PROOF THAT NOTHING HAS HAPPENDED AROUND ME AND THAT THEY CAN NOT HEAR WHAT I HEARD AND SAW. THIS HAS HAPPENDED TO ME OVER TEN TIMES IN THE LAST 6 YEARS. I HAVE MENTIONED IT TO MY DOCTOR, WHO JUST LOOKS AT ME AS IF I AM CRAZY. SOMETIMES, DURING THE DAY WHEN IT HAPPENS, IF FEELS LIKE SOMETHING LIKE A BLOOD VESSEL MIGHT HAVE JUST BROKEN IN MY HEAD. AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT I IMAGINE. THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW TIMES WHERE I ACTUALLY FELT PAIN IN MY UPPER LEFT BRAIN, OR MY LOWER RIGHT BRAIN LIKE A RUBBERBAND SNAPPED. OTHER THAN ME BEINGS STARTTLED, THERE IS NO SIGNS OR ANYTHING TO INDICATE THAT ANYTHING JUST HAPPENED TO ME. A COUPLE TIMES, I RECATED TO THE PAIN AND SOMEONE ASKED IF I WERE OK. IT HAS NEVER LASTED FOR MORE THAT A SECOND OR TWO. MY TOUCHING MY HEAD OR, STOPPING TO LISTEN AND PAY ATTENTION ARE THE ONLY INDICATIONS THAT ANYTHING HAPPENED. I HAVE NO SHARED THIS INFORMAITON IN THE PAST BECAUSE, THERE ARE NO SIGNES THAT I HAVE AN ILLNESS, AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT ANYTHING HAPPENED. I AM NOT STRESSED WHEN THESE EVENTS OCCURED, NOR CAN I EXPALIN THEM. I JUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THE INCIDENT FROM BEING VERY SMALL AND MY MOTHER TRYING TO HELP ME. SHE WAS ASKING ME WHO WAS WORKING ON MY HEAD. I COULD NEVER EXPLAIN. I NEVER HAD A MEMORY OF THE EVENT THE FOLLOWING DAY. I ONLY REMEMBER THE INCIDENT DAYS LATER AS A DISTANT MEMORY. WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS PROBLEM IT DOES FRIGHTEN ME IN THE SENSE THAT SOMETHING IS HAPPENING THAT I CAN’T DESCRIBE OR EXPLAIN. RECENTLY, I STARTED HAVING THESE EVENTS MORE OFTEN, SO I GOOGLED, GUNSHOTS SOUNDS, FLASHES IN MY HEARD AND FOUND ALL THIS DOCUMENTATION FROM OTHERS. I STLL CAN FIND ANYTHING THAT EXPLAINS WHY. I AM ADDING MY STORY HERE BECAUSE PEOPLE KEEPING SAYING THAT THIS HAPPENDS TO TEEN AND PEOPLE OVER 50. I KNOW THAT IT BEGAN WITH ME AS A VERY SMALL CHILD. I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF OTHERS MAY HAVE HAD THE EXPERIENCE AND JUST DON’T REMEMBER IT AS BEING A PART OF THE SAME PROBLEM.
hi. my name is darren , im from Perth Western Australia and your story sounds a lot like me ‘. just today i was trying to explain to someone what happens to me . they dont get it Im 50 years old and dont remember when i didnt have ehs which i have just today found out it has a name .I cant believe other people FEEL this
I DON’T SEE MY POST?
I think I have this exploding head syndrome. I am 42 and suffering from insomnia. I am a very light sleeper, a slight move or noise wakes me up and had a hard time falling back to sleep. I usually gets about 3 to 4 hours of sleep, sometimes I go to work without any sleep at all. My experience usually occur when I dozed off for about maybe an hour or so then I would hear this loud bang as if someone fired a gun. It is always the same sound and when I woke up the place was so quiet. I never thought of it as coming from my head until recently that made me think so because of the same sound and unlike any other noise this one made me jerked off. So I searched the internet without knowing what it is called and then I came up with this exploding head syndrome.
I never knew the actual term ehs I always called them phantom audibles. Mine vary from a balloon pop and I saw the hand with a needle in its hand. A knocking on the door and I went to answer it. A cat biting me so hard I woke up. Horns cymbals bombs fireworks screaming some one calling my name it’s always a different sound or an actual physical occurrence in my dreams
I just woke up about a half hour ago after experiencing the EHS. I actually felt like I had been shot in the head. There was a bright flash of light and a very loud sound like a gun shot. It happened during a dream. I was standing in the bathroom doorway talking to my wife and the event occurred. I actually felt like I had been shot, except there was no pain. It was very real. I thought someone had come into our home and simply walked into our bedroom and shot me in the head. I expected to literally die and was waiting for the oblivion of death. I woke up and after a few minutes googled this condition. I have had at least one other occurrence of this a week or two ago. Strangely, I cannot recall exactly when, but I think I was awake at the time.
I think I will start a diary or journal to see if I can come up with a pattern, or a “trigger” for these events. I am 78 years old. I do take a blood pressure medication, though my BP was not extraordinarily high. The medication I take is Irbesartan 150mg. My recollection is that there has been at least one other episode but I just can’t pinpoint the day or time of the event.
It is definitely a frightening experience as it is so completely real. Both the visual and auditory effect. I think I will try the zinc tablets prior to a doctor’s visit. I am fascinated by the fact that there are so many others experiencing the same thing. At least I know I’m not going crazy and hopefully it is not indicative of a stroke.
this is also the first time hearing other people have this after pretty much my hole life of it,
I’m Osiris, i am 39 and i too have similar experiences in hearing loud gunshot noises, explosions, lightning crackles moments after i fall asleep which seem so real and intense it really prohibits returning to sleep. The worst noise I’ve experienced is a strange whining wind up followed by a SNAP!! According to the doctors these noises are painless but that particular noise (for me) actually hurt my head. At one point i associated it with either nerves or brain cells dying and it was terrifying. Theses noises have been bothering me in recent years, in the past however, i would hear noises while being awake. Sounds like a tremendous deep bass, indecipherable really, just a very deep ominous noise that left me cowering in corners or under beds. When i would ask anyone else if they heard it i was told “it’s in your head” or the polite, “you have quite the imagination”. I don’t know if this last part has been experienced by anyone else although i am relieved as many others here that I’m not the only one who had heard the first noises i wrote of. I always thought it was in my head, it’s good to know I’m not the only one.
What a relief reading these experiences and particularly hearing it’s not dangerous in extremis (I hope). I started having these at @ 55, i.e. 7 years ago. They’re scary as hell, and as one previous commenter said they thought it may be a stroke or an aneurysm. I often get the little light flashes as if I hit my head or got punched. In fact, I used to think maybe I was hitting myself accidentally in my sleep. I usually clearly hear a hit or snap like sound. It certainly is a relief that others are frightened, miserable, or at least deeply concerned like me.
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For well over 20 years I have experienced EHS. I can see several different phases of this as the years have gone by. At first it would happen right when I was falling asleep. I would see a bright light and feel an electric current go through my head. Frequency of these episodes were 2 or 3 times a month. The next phase was multiple EHS repetitions in the same night. This made it hard to go to sleep having the certainty that another episode was going to happen, sometimes 6 in a row. Years ago, even less was known about EHS. I used to print out information from the National Sleep Association to take with me to the doctor or even the neurologist. It was recommended that I take seizure medication which I did not do. Next phase seemed the longest with loud obnoxious episodes but less or no lights in my head. What was most notable to me was that these episodes no longer occurred right when I fell asleep. They would happen hours into my sleep cycle. Years of that led to my yelling out a lot at night but with very small EHS episodes. Next phase included some pain. At times it felt like someone had hit me in the nose and that stinging feeling radiated over my face. That only happened a couple of times. I can also tell when I lie down on my right side, chances are much better for an episode. If I lay down for a few seconds, and feel like I’m falling when I close my eyes, it is time to sit back up to avoid EHS. Even closer to now, I recently had an episode that caused an extreme amount of pain inside my head. I can’t agree that there is no harm caused from these ESH experiences. I always thought of them as annoying but I now do believe there has to be some common denominator for those who have them. I did have injury to my head 50 years ago which was not looked at then. I also have had vertigo all of my life. I’m glad this forum allows people to describe their experiences. Hopefully another way to figure out the how and why of EHS is on our horizon.