Healthbolt

38 opinions for Exploding Head Syndrome

• Crabby McSlacker
  Aug 28, 2007 at 4:43 am

  Well, hearing an incredibly loud noise that you can’t get away from does sound pretty excruciating–but you’re right, someone had fun naming that one. A little over-dramatic. And I can’t imagine those relaxation exercises are too easy to perform with artillery going off in your ears all the time. Hope it’s really, really rare!

• Sara
  Aug 28, 2007 at 4:35 pm

  I agree, it must be a really unsettling and upsetting thing to experience - good thing it’s rare! :)

• Val
  Sep 14, 2007 at 6:52 pm

  I have this. First came on about a year ago. It only happens during sleep. It’s terrifying.

• Sara
  Sep 15, 2007 at 8:51 am

  Wow, Val. Thanks for stopping by to comment. Have you had any luck with any treatments?

• Val
  Sep 15, 2007 at 12:09 pm

  I’ve tried different ways to see if they’ll stop, and the only one that seems to work is No Alcohol! I’m also on 5 prescriptions, so the wine or vodka I consume mixed with those has that effect? I can’t tell for sure. I went 3 months last year sober and still had one, so I decided what the hell and popped a cork! ;)

• Val
  Sep 15, 2007 at 12:11 pm

  ETA: A description of what it feels like would be if you strapped dynamite around yourself and lit the fuse……

• Bari
  Nov 20, 2007 at 3:55 pm

  I had this for the first time last night. Loud explosion in my head & a very bright orange light. Scared the bejesus outta me. My heart was beating rapidly for about 3 minutes. I laid there & said my alphabet & my name & stuff to make sure I wasn’t brain damaged. LOL. I looked my symptoms up on the net this morning & at least got a good laugh from the name of it. Just glad it isn’t harmful

• simon
  Nov 21, 2007 at 3:57 am

  I have had this condition for about 6 months now, you can feel the build up coming and as soon as your’e about to drop off to sleep a massive burst of sound and light hits you in the centre of your brain usually causing me to jump up into the air, I do experience some degree of pain with this .

• Sara
  Nov 21, 2007 at 11:18 am

  Bari, Simon, wow! Have you sought treatment?

• Val
  Nov 21, 2007 at 12:37 pm

  Another variation I’ve experienced recently is similar to a balloon popping. I can hear the “rubber” stretching to its fullest for a split second, before it POPS! God, it’s annoying!!!

• Bari
  Nov 21, 2007 at 11:47 pm

  Sara. From what I have researched on it it is not dangerous. Besides that you are hard pressed to find a DR that agrees with anything that has the word “syndrome” in it. It took my Mom 4 years to find a DR that said “Yes there is such a thing as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I ran across as site yesterday that explains other types of lights & sounds & such that people experience & they are not all EHS. I will post the URL when I find it again.

• Bari
  Nov 21, 2007 at 11:57 pm

  BTW They say they don’t know exactly what causes EHS but that it is probably related to stress & extreme fatigue. Any comments from anyone on that?? Myself I am thinking that maybe only us lucky ones (LOL) get it because I know a lot of people are stressed & fatigued & they don’t experience this. BTW since my first post when I only had it happenonce it has happened 5 more times. Not only at night.

• Val
  Nov 22, 2007 at 10:46 am

  Bari, what happens when you say “not only at night”? And as for the stress, I would agree. I find that if I’m worried about something and can’t get it out of my mind, I get the zaps.

• Al
  Dec 1, 2007 at 7:27 pm

  It may sound like a dramatic name but it really is the most apt name because it does feel as if your head has just exploded, I find it’s most likely to happen when falling asleep after intense mental activity, there is a build up just before it happens, like a dizzy feeling and buzzing noise, then suddenly… BANG !

• dan
  Dec 12, 2007 at 3:19 am

  I can experience this sensation up to 4 times a night, im 18 years old, and well i just try to have fun with it, after the 1st one a night i find myself giggling because i know im safe but i feel incredibly scared. I also seem to have alot of fatal accidents in my dreams any feedback would be appreciated

• Pat
  Jan 1, 2008 at 8:40 am

  I have had this for 42 years. I had my first one at 26. It feels like a sledge hammer hitting my skull and splitting my head open along with bright lights and pain. I was so scared until I ran across an article in 1995, stating that it is harmless, and a doctor at Bellevue Hospital in N. Y. said they believed it is caused by an electrical discharge by the spinal cord. I have them a lot less frequently now, thank God.

• Sandra Thomas
  Jan 2, 2008 at 7:17 pm

  I started having these episodes in the spring of 2007. It felt like an electrical discharge in my head. My neurologist did not know what I was talking about when I described it to him. During testing, I had a sleep study, which showed that I moved my legs 75 times each hour. I was given Requip, and the episodes no longer occur. In addition, my leg cramps have also stopped. The requip helps keep me focused during the day while I teach 8th grade math. Thus, I believe that the exploding head syndrome has someting to do with low levels of dopamine.

• ...
  Jan 3, 2008 at 4:44 am

  I just had that. And I absolutely cannot go to sleep. It’s terrifying. I also have sleep paralysis which doesn’t aid at ALL to the situation.
  =[

• Lucas
  Jan 22, 2008 at 9:27 pm

  I’m 22, I experience this since 18. I do not hear an explosion, instead I hear a very brief and loud noise that resembles the sound made by an old Atari videogame when it crashed. This happens while I’m getting to sleep, always after a day of intense mental activity and is preceded by a buildup.
  Fortunately, alcohol does not trigger EHS for me :)

• Joe
  Jan 28, 2008 at 8:17 pm

  I’m so happy that other people get this, I thought it was just me.
  Just as I fall asleep I get the loudest, most intense buzzing noise. Lucas described it perfectly as the name an Atari used to make when it crashed. I have had it more recently but I am extremely fatigued and under-rested at the moment.
  Next time it happens it will be reassuring to know it’s not just me, and maybe I’ll be able to giggle rather then feel terrified.
  Cheers guys

• Joe
  Jan 28, 2008 at 8:18 pm

  *sound not ‘name’ :)

• Val
  Jan 28, 2008 at 10:48 pm

  Joe,

  Thanks for sharing. I doubt you, nor I or the rest of us will ever “giggle” over this. No matter how you slice it, it’s still terrifying. It just ain’t normal.

  Sweet Dreams,

  Val

• Laura
  Feb 21, 2008 at 8:33 pm

  I just found out what this is called today. I have had this for a few months now. Not every night. Sometimes it sounds like a bomb going off, sometimes it sounds like a door slamming loudly - BAM! And there is never any pain it just scares the crap out of me. I have also had problems with restless legs/leg cramps. Wonder if the two are somehow related based on what sandra posted.

• Val
  Feb 22, 2008 at 10:37 am

  I went to a Spiritual Healer on Tuesday and asked him to focus on my “brain zaps.” He immediately said, “You’re short-circuiting.”

  I have NOT had any zaps of any sorts since (3 nights).

  My zaps ranged from explosions, bombs, dynamite where I could hear it, to non-auditory bright, bright lights, to fire-related visions, and finally to death-feeling spasms.

  Just thought I’d chime in with the healing suggestion….can’t hurt, right?

• Laura
  Feb 23, 2008 at 7:33 pm

  I know for a fact that there are indeed electrical “charges” in the brain…..when I first experienced this, I thought I was short circuiting. Seems as if I might have been on to something there. Thanks, Val for the info on the spiritual healer. It is definitely worth a try.

• Carolyn
  Mar 25, 2008 at 1:10 pm

  I have had this for about 10 yrs. the first time it happened I told my husband get up and take me to the ER room, my head has exploded.
  He told me I was dreaming. Anyway I get it every time I am stressed and also when I am trying to go to sleep some nights are worst than others. I’m afraid to tell my Dr.

• Val
  Mar 27, 2008 at 10:53 am

  Following up here a month later from the “healer”: They stopped. Absolutely nothing. I do recite the Lord’s Prayer once I close my eyes and envision a white light protecting me. That’s all I did…well, I also removed my collection of Tarot cards from next to my bed if that played a role.

• Melissa
  Apr 2, 2008 at 12:19 am

  This happened to me a few months ago. I was really stressed out and slept on the couch that night right after a storm passed through the area. I woke up about 2 hours later to an incredibly loud noise like nothing I had heard before. I thought another storm was in the area again and caused a tree to fall on the house; it freaked me out. I didn’t hear any thunder or see any lightening so I checked the radar and saw that there were no storms nearby. I began to wonder if I really heard it or not. I went back to sleep and the next day I asked family members (who are light-sleepers) if they had heard anything and no one had. It was really weird.

• Shawna
  Apr 6, 2008 at 1:19 pm

  I have had this since I was in my early teens, and I also have sleep paralysis and mild restless leg–I can see how they would all be related. I also have early waking insomnia. I’m just a mess. LOL But I am seriously considering going to a sleep clinic after reading up on some of this. Everything I’ve read said some of these things taper off when you hit 30 or so, but I believe mine have been worse lately, and I’m 32 now.

• charlotte
  Apr 7, 2008 at 4:11 am

  If it hadn’t been for the accurate name it would have taken me weeks to find any info on this. When I had my first episode I searched on Google for Explosion in my head and found loads of EHS info straight away.

  I am 45, healthy, never taken drugs, don’t smoke, drink occassionally and work from home, not exposed to any chemicals. The only thing I can say might be relevant is stress and lack of sleep.

• Vee
  Apr 19, 2008 at 11:44 pm

  I have this too. Mine sounds like a Tesla Coil — like a Bzzzzz — then BANG, the explosion happens with a vision of a bright light with a zigzag pattern. Much like an old TV with bad reception, but really, really bright. The visual is similar to the optical migraine aura that I get at times, and from what I have read many sufferer’s get migraines too. I wonder if there is a connection?

  As far as the name goes…. it is a perfect description of this strange occurrence. Your head as far as you are aware has just exploded!

• audiologist
  Jun 20, 2008 at 5:53 am

  I am researching the EHS and would be interested in comments from sufferers. Has anyone noticed any link with changes in weight, hydration, posture or previous ear or neurological disease?

• Val
  Jun 20, 2008 at 9:04 am

  Weight - Have been slowly gaining weight since I quit smoking in 1990, but doubt that has any link.

  Hydration - I drink about 1 gallon of water daily, so no, I don’t think there’s any relation.

  Posture - No

  Ear - No

  Neurological - I’ve been on Effexor XR for 8 years. If I miss a dose, I get an occasional electrical pulse sensation when I turn my head quickly, which goes away upon next dose.

  Added Note: I’ve noticed if I eat a local establishment’s Cheeseburger (around 8 p.m.), I will get them. No other burgers have the effect. Possible link there.

• Lucas
  Jun 20, 2008 at 7:13 pm

  audiologist: I haven’t noticed any relations with weight, hydration or posture. I had an ear infection a year ago, but it did not affect my EHS. And I have no other neurological disease that I’m aware of (except for synesthesia, another funny and harmless syndrome, but it doesn’t seem to be related to EHS, either).
  I do believe that the cause for EHS is neurological, because the noise I hear is too complex to be generated in the ear (read my post above). By the way, I hadn’t had EHS for months since last December, and when it started attacking again, about a month ago, it was different. The noise I hear is now much softer (but still annoying), and I’m not getting it when getting to sleep at night, but in the morning, when I try to sleep again after waking up.
  For me, the most important variable to set the attacks is stress. It stopped to occur as soon as I got on vacations in December.

• Stacey
  Jul 7, 2008 at 1:19 am

  I just found out tonight that this is an actual medial condition. Who knew?? I had this happen to me a few times in my teens. (I also suffered the occasional bout of sleep paralysis then.) I’d wake up to a crash or sound that nobody else heard. I don’t recall those as being particularly loud, but loud enough that I woke up. The last time it happened was about 14 years ago when I was in my mid 20’s and under tremendous stress. It was like someone had put an airhorn to my ear! It was big, loud, and absolutely terrifying. I was afraid to go back to sleep and I laid there for a few hours before drifting off again. I never experienced any flashes. I haven’t had an episode like it since, but I do get the electrical shock spasms that make my whole body jump just as I’m falling asleep on occasion. I can feel it coming just a split second before it happens, like all my reflexes are are overwhelmed at once. I hate that I can’t stop it, but I don’t exactly get a 3 minute warning. I was on Effexor for about a year for anxiety, and it made the shock-spasms occur on a regular basis, plus some other interesting ones. (I got off it. The electrical body buzz was just too freaky, and missing a dose made me ill. NEVER again will I take it!)

  audiologist —

  weight: I don’t think it’s linked. I weighed less with my last episode compared to the ones in my teens. The stress levels were different, too.

  hydration: no

  posture: no

  neurological trauma: I had a severe head injury in an auto accident when I was 2. It occured near the midline of the right side of my head. I don’t think I’ve had any problems because of it, just a dent and a scar. No headaches, except for allergies.

  I’ve suffered from inner ear issues, mostly relating to motion sickness, since I was a child. I’ve also developed alleries in the past 10 years that have contributed to the problem. I got over the motion sickness by the time I was five, but it returned to a degree in my 30’s. I don’t do well under water–I easily get disoriented and ill.

• Audiologist
  Jul 7, 2008 at 8:09 am

  Thanks for comments Val, Lucas and Stacey. Two of you mention Effexor, a drug I have not heard of (in the UK).
  Stacey: I think it is quite possible that your head injury damaged your inner ear, making it more sensitive to motion sickness (dizziness is a very common symptom of concussion). That may be the only noticable effect of the damage, since normally your eyes compensate for and recalibrate any erroneous signals coming from the organs of balance. Underwater, however, your vestibular organs are your only source of information about gravity and the upright, so you need to take very great care about going under the surface.

• Michael
  Jul 10, 2008 at 9:29 pm

  I am not sure if this is what I am suffering from or not. My symptoms usually happen like 5-10 minutes after falling asleep and I get what I can only describe as a big jolt of electricity running through my head. Its a very intense buzzing but I dont get the very loud noise. I have noticed it tends to start of small and then builds up to the point where it gets so intense that I feel like I am being electrocuted. Its not painful, just uncomfortable. I don’t have these episodes very often, maybe once or twice every couple weeks.

  I usually wake up or do something to snap myself out of it however there have been a couple episodes where I just let the episode continue and I eventually reach a state where my entire body seems to be buzzing. While the initial stages are uncomfortable and even frightening, these later stages, when I don’t do something to stop it, are extremely relaxing. I feel as if my whole body is on a vibrating LazyBoy. Its kind of like when you have the happy gas at the dentist.

  The majority of my episodes end quickly with me waking up and sitting up. Even after waking I can still feel small remnants of the buzzing and they usually fade out completely in a couple of minutes.

  Is this exploding Head Syndrome or is it some other sleep disorder if it even is a sleep disorder. I have never brought this up to my doctor simply because I was afraid he would think I was crazy and I have always had a hard time describing exactly what is happening.

  Anyways any information someone might have on just what this might be would be greatly appreciated. I don’t think its serious because its been happening to me for a very long time. Probably over 10+ years.

• FOH Guy
  Jul 15, 2008 at 8:57 pm

  Just found this website, figured I’d chip in… I’ve had this condition for about 10 years. About 90 percent of the time, its also accompanied by sleep paralysis. I used to be terrified of this happening when i went to sleep, but I actually look forward to it now.. I’ll explain below. The only cure that I could find was to force myself out of bed/wake up, and get a glass of milk/water. When I would lay back down, I would fall asleep peacefully. However, after doing some personal experimentation, I found that this condition is a precursor to an Out-of-body experience, or Lucid Dream. The “pops” start slowly, and they accelerate kind of like a car motor for what seems like anywhere from 5 to 20 seconds. They are also accompanied by the feeling of deep vibrations (40hz-80hz) from the base of my skull down to my feet. Its hard to explain the next step however. Everything up to this point, i like to call the “mental storm”. If you can overcome the fear that all of these symptoms will bring, I’ve found that one of two things will happen. I can will myself out of my body, and have a full blown Out of Body Experience, or I can will myself into a Lucid Dream. The above symptoms have never been drug induced. It usually happens when I’m not tired and try to force myself to go to sleep. I guess its kind of a meditative state. Anyway, if anyone has any questions for me, go for it. I will answer them on this board. Thanks for reading.

  James

  “The trick is to combine your waking rational abilities with the infinite possibilities of your dreams. Because, if you can do that, you can do anything.” - Guy Forsyth

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