The Big Bang in My Head

FROM: Chris
DATE: Saturday January 5, 2002 -- 8:50:15PM

Hey - how about a little script so the ping will remember who I am...

BTW, that sound that you heard probably came from the house across the street from mine - they are damn loud...

FROM: jk
DATE: Saturday January 5, 2002 -- 10:29:22PM

Is this the same as when you feel like someone has shaken the bed? The sniglet for that is "napjerk", funny that I remember that.

FROM: Ryan
DATE: Sunday January 6, 2002 -- 4:50:54 am

Chris -- That's frightening that you requested that. I assume you see why now. :)

jk -- I always get those when I miss a step on a flight of stairs in a dream...

FROM: Steve
DATE: Friday February 1, 2002 -- 2:50:15 am

this thing you describe, i heve discussed it with people, and i get something similar- i dont hear a bang, but i feel like im falling for about 1/2 a second, then, i wake up, startled, and completely awake.

FROM: Tim
DATE: Monday March 1, 2004 -- 1:06:16 am

Yes, light sleep and bang. Sometimes with flash of light inmy head. Makes ears ring sometimes. Find a name for it yet?

FROM: Ryan [E-Mail]
DATE: Monday March 1, 2004 -- 12:27:42 pm

Nope, but it happened again last night...

FROM: Tim
DATE: Thursday April 1, 2004 -- 11:33:10 pm

Check this site out.

http://www.freep.com/news/health/good24_20001024.htm

FROM: Ryan [E-Mail]
DATE: Friday April 2, 2004 -- 9:49:55 am

Holy crap. I have "exploding head syndrome!"

That's so cool. :)

FROM: Norm
DATE: Monday November 8, 2004 -- 3:45:07 am

I have exploding head syndrome,just found out proper name for it today.Trippy man,thought i was the only one that had that experiance.Scares the hell out of me when i have episode,to weird

FROM: Choco
DATE: Monday November 15, 2004 -- 1:32:24 pm

Wow... I'm not alone.

FROM: Vinnie Will
DATE: Sunday November 21, 2004 -- 11:27:57 pm

I happens to me often, a few nights ago it was a bad one. Also with the bang was a bright flash in my head. when I got my thoughts together I felt some pain in the front of my head. Is thee a name for this event.

FROM: david
DATE: Sunday December 26, 2004 -- 6:12:06 am

ive had it too i think its something spiritual or ghostly or something my girlfriend has had it too. interisting to do more research in

FROM: Gary Kay
DATE: Wednesday January 19, 2005 -- 9:48:27 pm

I have had this syndrome for several years and I just now have found out what it is....amazing and very good to know. I have had a cat scan and a brain scan and neither my doctor or a neurosurgeon were able to diagnose. Thank God for the internet!

My experinces come and go, and the sensation varies tremendously. Sometimes it is quite mild, sometimes it is frighteningly "huge" and explosive.

I'd like more info.....

FROM: Gary Kay
DATE: Friday January 28, 2005 -- 7:04:27 pm

does anybody know of any research or study groups re: exploding head syndrome?

FROM: Kelpie
DATE: Sunday January 30, 2005 -- 8:16:58 am

I developed this syndrome some years ago but, until tonight, I had no idea it had a name, or that I'm not the only person this happens to.

While researching something else I came across a reference to "Exploding Head Syndrome" and immediately recognised that as what I experience.

It's great to know that I'm not alone, nor imagining this as I've sometimes wondered, lol.

FROM: Brett
DATE: Wednesday February 9, 2005 -- 7:39:14 pm

I have EHS as well. However, I also get adrenaline overproduction, which causes my muscle to twitch randomly. Apparently this is one of the "side effects" of EHS. I have tried clonazepam, a sleeping pill, that worked quite well for supressing EHS, but only for a limited time, as you become desensitized to it. Paroxetine is also supposed to help, according to my neurologist. Clomipramine is also suggested.

FROM: Mary
DATE: Friday March 4, 2005 -- 2:20:20 pm

I'm pleased to find I'm not alone. I've just started getting these loud bangs waking me up and was most alarmed. Pleased to find its harmless. I was imagining all sorts of serious problems. Thank god for the internet!

FROM: Irene
DATE: Tuesday March 15, 2005 -- 11:39:49 am

I can't believe that EHS is a real condition! I've been thinking I'm going mad with these bangs that wake me up at night and now I know what the name for it is. I'm so relieved to know and I'll be telling my Dr about this as she doesn't know what's wrong with me and is sending me to the sleep lab to have my head checked out !!

FROM: Ryan [E-Mail]
DATE: Tuesday March 15, 2005 -- 12:10:11 pm

The Sleep Lab.

There's a place I'd like to be a patient.

FROM: robuck
DATE: Thursday March 17, 2005 -- 4:23:01 am

Have experienced EHS for 35 yrs. Have been indulging in cannabis and acid and mushrooms for 40 yrs. Any connection?

FROM: NS
DATE: Wednesday April 6, 2005 -- 12:07:19 am

Just Curious if you guys found a link between caffeine or nervousness before bed... although it has only happened 2 times in 3 years I worry about it scaring me every night

FROM: sn
DATE: Wednesday May 4, 2005 -- 12:29:44 pm

I always thought it was night terrors, but now I'm sure it's EHS. If I get stressed, I'm sure to get one or many in one night. Always one hour after going to sleep.

FROM: dcorbett
DATE: Wednesday May 4, 2005 -- 7:25:14 pm

I have had this a lot, it almost sounded electrical. Really freaky, it would happen just before drifting in to semi-conciousness. I thought it was because I was like Robuck,still could be. I found that when I went to the Chiropracter to relieve neck pressure and got regular massages it went away. Haven't had it in years.

FROM: Eureka
DATE: Saturday June 18, 2005 -- 3:21:28 pm

I have been experiencing these since I was a child. They happen during periods of stress or when I've been around chemicals. I had not had any episodes for several years and then when I was working in a salon I started having them every night. I started a different career and they went away. Now household cleaners and stress triggers them. I've seen doctors and they have no idea what to say or do. Most of them are not informed about EHS.
This isn't something to be alarmed about. Everything I've heard about it claims that it is harmless, although very annoying and can interrupt sleep.
My EHS usually occurs right when I'm falling to sleep and involves the loud noise, a sudden jolt, and I'm usually left gasping for air. I think the other things are just a reaction to the noise itself.

FROM: mrs m e allison
DATE: Wednesday June 22, 2005 -- 7:00:48 am

Ialso have EHS and have been having it nightly for 3 years and it terrifies me witless loudbangs and sometimes flashes like forked lightning where ever it touches i get a shock of pins and needles either in my thumbs or in both hands and running down my face , now on the exsploding im getting a violent jerking in my sholder or my leg kicks out its so scarey . and this always happens as i drift into the edge of sleep although im not yet asleep i havnt been offered a cat scan and i would like to have one .too calm my fears it happens from 2 to 6 times a night

FROM: Judy
DATE: Wednesday June 29, 2005 -- 7:16:18 pm

Am 55 and have had "it" for years. It will happen several times nightly for a few weeks and then go away for a year or 2. I thought that I way crazy.

FROM: Fran
DATE: Wednesday June 29, 2005 -- 11:15:59 pm

I have to laugh. I read about Exploding Head Syndrome in a rerun Dave Barry column and immediately recognized it. I've had it for years, and always thought of it as "that gunshot noise". My heart races for a little while, but once I'm sure that I'm not shot, I just go back to sleep.
I can say with confidence that it has nothing to do with caffeine, as I have had no caffeine for the last 15 years, and I still occasionally wake up with EHS. Fatigue and stress correlate pretty well, though.

FROM: Gael
DATE: Thursday July 7, 2005 -- 3:01:02 am

Have just found out this week that I have EHS, am astounded that it has a name. Had it every night for last 2 months sometimes all night. The loud bangs, the electrical type buzz, the clanging metalic sound, lights flashing, always just as Im dropping into semi-consciousness, but also have been woken from sleep with it. Astounding to know so many have it as well, dont feel so bad now, but wonder whats going on for us all to have this same weird thing.

FROM: snaily
DATE: Thursday July 7, 2005 -- 2:02:18 pm

i seem to get the same falling sensation right before i fall asleep. i read somewhere that your sub concious brain give you the sensation to represent your system sort of shutting down for a good night sleep. i dont know ow much i believe that though

FROM: hb
DATE: Wednesday July 13, 2005 -- 1:06:03 pm

The first time this happened to me I was 9 years old & sitting on the counter in our kitchen.

Once in the 1980s when I was dozing on my couch, I heard the noise, & I felt the couch shake as if it had dropped from 10 feet. It felt like an earthquake.

The EHS kept up till I reached my early 50s. For whatever reason (probably hormonal?), it's sharply abated since then. I've never over-indulged in drugs, alcohol, etc. Since my 40s, I've mostly given up even the occasional glass of wine.

I made the mistake of mentioning my EHS to a few doctors along the way. They would draw back & raise their eyebrows &, I imagine, wonder if I didn't have just a wee, tiny psychosis.

Glad to finally see some research validation on the web.

FROM: jl
DATE: Thursday July 21, 2005 -- 5:12:19 am

I just had an attack. I happened upon the name for it at Wikipedia a few months ago and went back to it tonight and followed a link from there to here.

The first time a had it was like 8 years ago. I was living with my parents and I thought I heard someone fire a shot gun outside my window. I woke up with a racing heart. I went to the living room and asked my father if he'd heard that. The fact that he was calmly watching TV and his perplexed expression clued me in pretty quick that he hadn't.

I was very ill with biploar disorder at the time so I thought it was just another symptom of that since I was suffering from periodic manic psychosis.

But it occured about once a year even after I got better.

After reading that Wikipedia article and knowing what it is, when I had the attack tonight, I had no racing heart. I even seemed to hear it differently. It seemed less real.

I agree with the person above who found the correlation with stress and fatigue. I was pretty stressed tonight and absolutely exhausted when I fell asleep.

FROM: Ryan [E-Mail]
DATE: Thursday July 21, 2005 -- 11:41:00 am

I had another mild attack a couple of weeks ago and woke up thinking, "Hey, my head just exploded."

FROM: \'Chele
DATE: Sunday July 31, 2005 -- 5:49:58 pm

WOW!! I'm not crazy!! I didn't start having this until I after came down with Meningitis. Since then, I started to have some type of seizure disorder. When I described this (my brain explosions) feeling to my Neuro, he looked at me like I was a nut! I see a new Neuro on Monday, hopefully, he'll be a little more open

FROM: Rob
DATE: Saturday August 13, 2005 -- 1:19:29 pm

Just stumbled across this from Wiki, I occasionally suffer from what sound and feel like electrical head shocks, like lightning ripping through my skull, It's only happened while trying to get to sleep at night, stressed and exhausted sounds about right as well. It's really deeply unpleasant, makes me wonder if one time I just won't 'restart', not cool at all.

FROM: Joseph
DATE: Saturday August 13, 2005 -- 7:24:02 pm

The Big Band in my head has got to be either the Glenn Miller Orchestra or Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

Oh wait! It says "Big Bang in My Head."

Nevermind.

FROM: Scott
DATE: Sunday August 14, 2005 -- 6:18:19 am

Thank God I'm not alone! Sounds like a huge firecracker going off in the middle of my forehead, right on the verge of deep sleep. Seems to only happen when falling asleep lying on my back; sleeping on my side or stomach, it doesn't occur. Weird, huh?

FROM: June
DATE: Saturday September 3, 2005 -- 10:05:21 am

I have had this horrible condition for almost four and a half years. In that time I have been to 3 sleep centres. The last one confirmed these attacks as EHS. Like many of you I have felt I was the only one to have this condition. I would add that including the loud bank and the sense of being struck by lightening, the 'blast' seems to expand outwards through my upper chest. Very, very terrifying but at last I know I am not alone.

FROM: MW
DATE: Saturday September 24, 2005 -- 5:40:25 pm

My first attack sounded like a loud gun shot, right beside my ear. My heart racing, I immediately awoke my husband and asked if he heard the gun shot...to my surprise he said "What gun shot?" It was so loud the neighbors had to hear it too. I dozed off curious about what I heard but I knew it was definitely a gun shot and it was close. It occurred again in the middle of the day while I was napping...definitely an adrenaline pumper. I went to the internet and thank God, found my problem was Exploding Head Syndrome. I also wanted an MRI to rule out a tumor or whatever was causing the noise to occur. I also got the funny look from my doctor when I told him about EHS...he was totally uninformed. It comes and goes. This time I find myself waking up to answer the ringing phone only to get a dial tone. Other times I am jarred awake by an electrical humming. It is really scary because I don't know what sound to expect next to jar me awake. I suppose we can all take comfort in knowing it is harmless. I'm 59, female, retired and seldom under stress but I do suffer from headaches.

FROM: Teri
DATE: Monday September 26, 2005 -- 11:38:57 pm

the medical term is called exploding head syndrome. There is info on the web about it. I experience it too. No fun!!!

FROM: Ryan [E-Mail]
DATE: Tuesday September 27, 2005 -- 9:59:58 am

Yeah, we determined that a while ago.

FROM: Andrea
DATE: Monday October 10, 2005 -- 8:34:28 am

The other night my husband jumped out of bed and told me there was an accident in front of the house. I heard it, but I thought it was my EHS acting up! I didn't even flinch!

FROM: Dee
DATE: Thursday October 13, 2005 -- 6:10:07 am

I am so damn happy to know in not crazy. I have been having these attacks for years. I often wake up hearing a loud gunshot or a loud electrical noise that sounds like a Tesla Coil producing lightning. I wake up sweating, panting for breath and feeling like my heart is gonna beat out of my chest. I did try to talk to a couple of doctors about it but they really didnt take me seriously, so it is nice to know i am not alone. :)

FROM: lucy [E-Mail]
DATE: Sunday October 16, 2005 -- 4:15:22 am

i had this once and it was terrifieng i thought about it for weeks i heard a gun shot and thoyght id been shot in the head or something i also seen a flashed i moved quickly startled and my heart raced it was so scary and i thought i was the only one to get it and i was krazy this page has been so helpfull and eased my worry some more

FROM: Stik
DATE: Tuesday October 25, 2005 -- 1:46:12 am

i had this once - it was the strangest thing id ever experienced - i was just staring off into the dark and then i felt totally shocked and unreal as i heard a loud noise as if someone was blowing in my ear and my vision was filled with a bright blue flash - afterwards my heart was pumping like crazy - and to find out that i had an episode of EHS...i think i was just weird

FROM: Bob
DATE: Wednesday October 26, 2005 -- 2:41:09 am

Isn't it fantastic when you are told what it is and that it isn't going to kill you, and you are not going mad. I have had the works, bangs and flashes but feel that i can now cope. I had ME when i was younger and wonder if there is a connection

FROM: Angie
DATE: Thursday October 27, 2005 -- 9:54:28 pm

Well what a huge relief. I have been having these noises in my head just as I am dropping off to sleep for over a year now. I shall now put it down to stress, as that figures only too well. I lost my Dad and then a year later his Brother was murdered.
I was recently admitted to hospital with suspected meningitiis and my head has not felt right since, I have tinnitus too and was becoming very worried that something more sinister was going on.
Thanks for taking the time to post, it has eased my mind so much.

FROM: Roids
DATE: Wednesday November 2, 2005 -- 6:38:14 pm

Hey fellow EHSers!

Had this happen to me a week ago and didnt know what it was. I also had the gunshot noise and flash of light. Not going through anything stressful though, I thought it was pretty cool when it happened!

The sound reminded me of my .22 magnum rifle!

FROM: cathy
DATE: Thursday November 3, 2005 -- 3:10:34 am

i have this too. bangs and flashes. i have started having non epileptic seizures too( caused by stress) wonder if this is connected.

FROM: Steve
DATE: Thursday November 3, 2005 -- 9:52:40 am

I get this one or two weeks a year. I don�t do drugs, I don�t drink. I do smoke, and I drink a lot of caffeine. I have had this in the middle of vacation once, so I don�t think its stress related. For me it seems to be caffeine induced. It being caused by exhaustion seems possible as well. It�s always the exact same. Someone earlier said that it �sounds like a Tesla Coil producing lightning�. That�s EXACTLY how I would describe it. It does not sound like a gunshot for me. I always told my parents when it would happen (It started when I was a child), and I always told them that it was the reason that I�m a mad super genius :) I see a bright flash too when it occurs. I don�t have any other symptoms that you guys described though. The only other thing that goes along with it for me is a racing heart, but that�s simply because it scares the crap out of me after it happens. Glad to know it�s harmless, and glad to know I�m not the only person it happens to.

FROM: bill
DATE: Thursday November 3, 2005 -- 8:36:58 pm

sometimes i wake up suddenly like if im about to fall over in a dream or if i trip or something. its startling

FROM: Terron
DATE: Monday November 7, 2005 -- 2:25:40 am

Does everyone believe in alien abduction? Maybe we all have implants in our head that's making our noggins explode from within! LoL

FROM: bob
DATE: Thursday November 10, 2005 -- 5:59:09 am

This is my second post.
As Steve said, it is not a bang. I get a loud twang or buzz which i cannot , describe fully. I also get the flashing lights, yellow or blue, with the noise. Is muscle twitching a part of it too? I am trying to find out what, if anything causes the episodes, about three a year. I suspect there is a trigger, but whether it is just stress (and muscle tension that it creates) or chemical/ environmental i don't know. It does seem to happen when i am working in the house, painting, or decorating. Has any real research been carried out and if so are the results available.
Bob

FROM: bob
DATE: Thursday November 10, 2005 -- 6:32:58 am

This is my second post.
As Steve said, it is not a bang. I get a loud twang or buzz which i cannot , describe fully. I also get the flashing lights, yellow or blue, with the noise. Is muscle twitching a part of it too? I am trying to find out what, if anything causes the episodes, about three a year. I suspect there is a trigger, but whether it is just stress (and muscle tension that it creates) or chemical/ environmental i don't know. It does seem to happen when i am working in the house, painting, or decorating. Has any real research been carried out and if so are the results available.
Bob

FROM: Gerie
DATE: Saturday November 12, 2005 -- 4:42:04 pm

After a night at the sleep disorder clinic in which I awoke many times, my usual pattern, I decided to pay attention to what was going on. Lights flash in my headand wake me up. Four years ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and was on a cpap machine for three years. Before I could get a replacement machine last year I had to get another sleep study. The diagnoses was not sleep apnea but something caused me to wake up 52 times. I had three failed visits with a neurolgist (study did not arrive then referal expired). I put on 25 pounds in the year with no change in diet or exercise and was always exhausted. I decided to use my cpap machine again when I read that there is a correlation between apnea and weight gain. My weight stabilized.I seemed to sleep better. Then my pulminary specialist said that I should have another sleep study to see if the apnea returned(whether apnea cause weight gain or the weight gain caused a return of apnea.) I do not have apnea but woke up over 50 times. Last night I paid attention to what was going on. Each awakening follows a burst of light. I just looked this upon Google and found exploding head syndrome. I do not hear noise, only a flash and I wake up and open my eyes.

FROM: naplesdee
DATE: Wednesday November 16, 2005 -- 12:57:53 pm

Well I am happy to find out I am not going crazy. I get the works, lights, the THX theater sounds complete with the buzz and shocks. Because I have been paralyzed with fear I try to grab for my husband and think I am, only to wake and find my hands under my pillow.
I have had some problems with my left ear and I wear ear plugs to sleep. I am wondering if there is some correlation because my inner ear makes clicky sounds in the day. I do not drink more than 1/2 of cup of caffiene a day usually coffee in the morning.
I do think it has something to do with blood pressure. I bought a machine and my blood pressure goes off the chart when this happens. Very very high.

I am going to a doctor tomorrow I am wondering if he will know what this is or if there is something to take for it.
I am tired of being tired all day.

FROM: Mick
DATE: Sunday November 20, 2005 -- 11:36:24 am

I found this thread by putting explosions in my head in altavista.

I too have experienced explosions in my head on the point of falling to sleep, they wake me with real start and my hearts racing, they are real explosions even with reverb, massive explosions too.


As a side note: i also keep having strange spiritual experiences and visions, one in 1994 another in 1998 and again in 2003-2004 i also thought it maybe temporal lobe epilepsy but my eeg/ecg (whichever it was) came back clear

Any more info/links on this would be great if any1 has any, as i have my suspicions that johnny is messing with science he shouldn't be messing with. See below

Susyem of a down
Lyrics of Toxicity - -

Conversion, software version 7.0
looking at life through the eyes of a tired hub
eating seeds as a pastime activity
the toxicity of our city, of our city
Now, what do you own the world?
how do you own disorder, disorder
Now somewhere between the sacred silence
Sacred silence and sleep
somewhere, between the sacred silence and sleep
disorder, disorder, disorder
More wood for the fires, loud neighbours
flashlight reveries caught in the headlights of a truck
eating seeds as a pastime activity
the toxicity of our city, of our city

Now, what do you own the world?
how do you own disorder, disorder
Now somewhere between the sacred silence
Sacred silence and sleep
somewhere between the sacred silence and sleep
disorder, disorder, disorder
Now, what do you own the world?
how do you own disorder, disorder
Now somewhere between the sacred silence
Sacred silence and sleep
somewhere, between the sacred silence and sleep
disorder, disorder, disorder
When I became the sun
I shone life into the man's hearts
When I became the sun
I shone life into the man's hearts

FROM: Anna
DATE: Friday November 25, 2005 -- 12:09:05 pm

I also experiene exploding head syndrome, but it is always in the daytime. It comes without warning. I can be cleaning the house, grocery shopping, or at school teaching and then I get this indescribable bang, buzzing - it feels electrical - in my head. I have to hold my head until it stops which is in seconds. It is sometime followed by a severe headache, which I am prone to anyway. I have had it for at least l5 years , but it seems to be getting more frequent. The doctor thought it was a spasm of a blood vessel in my head.

FROM: A different Anna
DATE: Monday November 28, 2005 -- 10:45:11 am

Just found this, and like many here I'm glad I'm not going crazy(er). Or at least not on my own!

I have always had vivid scary dreams and often wake up, but the last 4 nights or so I've been woken up very early by the sound of gunshot/heavy football hitting the window/other weird loud sounds.

Hoping this will stop soon. Good luck everyone!

FROM: John
DATE: Saturday December 3, 2005 -- 1:43:43 am

Like others here, I figured this was unique to me. I don't really know how often it happens to me, monthly maybe? For me it's when I'm sound asleep, sometimes in a dream. It's a firecracker sound, although sometimes it's the doorbell sound! It freaks me enough to get up and check out the house and yard, heart racing. I do suffer a lot from anxiety, maybe it builds up subconsciously and POPs? I don't like it at all.

FROM: Tristan
DATE: Monday December 12, 2005 -- 1:57:26 am

Yes, I get the twang too. It's really horrible. When I get it it tends to keep happening for the rest of that night, every time I try and drop off to sleep.

I have found that listening to relaxing specialised music on the walkman helps.

No idea what causes it. Here in England I've heard them called "headshocks" as well. There's also another discussion here (a few years ago)
http://bbs.clubplanet.com/archive/index.php/t-109728.html

FROM: tess
DATE: Thursday December 15, 2005 -- 8:55:49 pm

last night i woke at 2 in the morn because i heard a loud explosion. i woke my husband up and said what was that? he said he didn't hear anything so i waited for my son to come in the room cause i was sure he heard it because it was so loud. he never did, and so i and fell back asleep but awoke in the morn with a teriible headache in the back of my head and upset stomach. i figure it was a migraine. but usually my migraines are in the front part of my head so i really dont know . but kinda worried me .

FROM: crystal
DATE: Wednesday December 28, 2005 -- 10:15:08 am

WOW! I have this every few months...and last night i was sleeping and while i was in the middle of a dream i heard this extreme loud BANG! sounded like someone was right there next to me and shot a gun right in my ear .....my body had an instant reflex and it startled me i jumped....then i woke up......Scary but at least i know im not alone ....Geeeez these are scary .....

FROM: sheila
DATE: Friday December 30, 2005 -- 1:57:48 am

wow. amazing to know you are not alone. was always nervous to tell my doc i was "hearing things". lol. will hear my "gunshot or firecracker" usually when i am dozing off, but occasionally when i am wide awake. might be in periods of higher stress. hard to correllate events with them. mine come in little batches and then go away for months. i noticed them most when i was in nursing school. hoped it meant i was maybe firing up some new brain cells or synapses. lol. take care all.

FROM: surendipity
DATE: Monday January 2, 2006 -- 1:20:14 am

I would like to ask you EHS people a few questions.
I also have EHS but I think it's really amazing.

A few questions

Are you sensitive to the experience between the point of awakeness into
sleep?

Have any of you experienced Shadowmen at anytime in your lives?
Shadowmen (dark blobs or dark figures)

Have any of you had surgery under a General Anesthetic prior to the EHS?

Have you had any General Anesthetic surgery in the past?

Are you open to paranormal believes or religious/spiritual believes?

Do they happen more in the middle of the month?

Are you aware of your surroundings during this bang, or do you have to come into reality and focus into an awakeness first?

Are you prone to insomnia?

FROM: Octavia
DATE: Friday January 6, 2006 -- 5:57:29 pm

I was looking at some of my old medical notes & realized I haven't had this happen in a long time. It happened several times back around 2000. Just as you described - an extremely loud bang, like a gunshot & waking up with my heart racing. Tooo scarey:( When I finally remember to mention it to my doc, I don't remember what she said. All I recall is she just kind of gave a sad shake to her head. For me, it seemed to happen when I was having really bad stuffy sinus infections.... Still curious about what this is, I Googled & found your page... Sorry it happens to you & to the others here.

FROM: Doug
DATE: Sunday January 8, 2006 -- 1:53:34 am

My first "explosion" sounded like a car crash. I jumped out of bed to check on the problem, only to find that there was nothing there. My neurologist decided I was having panic attacks. He prescribed elavil with the following results: (1) I still have the explosions 11 years later, and (2) I wound up with a number of negative side effects from the medicine, including vertigo and dizziness.

I tried to explain the problem to one of my sons, by suggesting the symptoms were like being hit with a cattle prod in the back of my head, with a resulting loud 'zap' sound, a flushing feeling through my head, and some pain ranging from a mild headache to actually hurting my teeth, and finally, a jerking reaction causing my body to tense up for a few seconds. It always happens during the twilight level of sleep (never in the day) and, like an earlier entry, happens when I am lying on my back but to a much less extent when lie on my sides. After my description, he mentioned that he had the same problem.

I am experiencing a tapering off of the incidents. The only thing I can point to is that I was informed as to the negative effects of aspartame, and can easily relate it to the fact that I was drinking 1 to 2 two liter containers of a diet cola of some sort starting back in the 1990's when I first starting experiencing EHS, and have recently stopped drinking the stuff.

Various doctors, indlucing those I spoke with at the Mayo Clinic in 1994, didn't have a clue when I tried to explain these symptoms to them. I'm glad I can finally call it by name.

FROM: LiLi
DATE: Monday January 9, 2006 -- 6:40:04 pm

Oh yeah! All *THAT* and morrrrre! For as long as I can remember. I started doing the "BigBangThang" when I was just a little kid....I've had all that has been mentioned here...buzzing, electric shocks, loud bangs, gagage doors slamming, gunshots, car wrecks, lighting, little swirly spots of light, bright flashes, "fireflies"...and so much more! If you can name it..I've had it. Thank the Gods and Goddesses I am not alone.

Something I'd like to respond to:

FROM: surendipity
DATE: Monday January 2, 2006 -- 1:20:14 am
I would like to ask you EHS people a few questions.
I also have EHS but I think it's really amazing.

A few questions

Are you sensitive to the experience between the point of awakeness into
sleep?
Yes I am...always have been...but I also have the experience in the middle of the night....and occasionally when awake.

Have any of you experienced Shadowmen at anytime in your lives?
Shadowmen (dark blobs or dark figures)
Just since forever....can't name a time that I haven't seen those.

Have any of you had surgery under a General Anesthetic prior to the EHS? Difficult to say...probably. I had my tonsils removed at age 3 under a general anesthetic and since I don't remember much prior to age three...I don't know which came first..the general anesthetic or the big bang thang. My mother has told me that I have ALWAYS, even as a newborn, gone to sleep and then just a little while later "startled/jumped" awake even though the house was quiet.

Have you had any General Anesthetic surgery in the past?
Several.

Are you open to paranormal believes or religious/spiritual believes? Yep....always have been. I've had these beliefs since I was a child; my mother says I started talking to and about this type stuff as soon as I could speak.

Do they happen more in the middle of the month?
Not really....I had an episode just last night. This stuff happens to me all the time.

Are you aware of your surroundings during this bang, or do you have to come into reality and focus into an awakeness first?
Depends. If it is early in my sleep cycle/soon after falling asleep: Yes, I am *USUALLY*; but not always, aware of my surroundings. If it occurs late(r) in my sleep cycle: No, not *USUALLY* and I have to come into "reality" and focus myself; but there are occasions when I am aware of my surroundings.

Are you prone to insomnia?
ROFL.....darlin' I have never known life WITHOUT insomnia. I would almost consider killing for a GOOD, RESTFUL, REFRESHING nights' sleep.

FROM: Judy
DATE: Tuesday January 10, 2006 -- 10:46:19 am

It's always a comfort to know you're not alone with something weird happening in your life. I have been experiencing explosions in my head since about 1989. I best describe it as a sonic boom. However, occasionally I am awakened by other weird sounds such as high pitched pings or high zzzzipp. Hard to describe.

Anyway, I have a comment for LiLi. During the delivery of my third child in 1986, I received an epidural injection into my spine. While the anesthesiologist was injecting more fluid, I suddenly experienced a terrifying sound akin to ambulance sirens in my head. I thought I was dying! When I looked at the doctor, nurses, my husband, and the monitor, of my vitals everyone and everything was appearing normal. I realized I was the only one hearing it. The next day when I told the anesthesiologist, he said he had never had anyone describe anything like that. Of course, when the explosions starteded, I wondered if there was any connection. I don't know if a doctor would care to comment on that.

Also, I'm curious to know if anyone who is experiecing EHS also has fibromyalgia, which is accompanied by a sleep disorder. I have also had that since about '91, so a lot of my sleep problems are weird. Thanks for taking the time to read this long post.

FROM: LiLi
DATE: Wednesday January 11, 2006 -- 1:03:57 am

I have Fibromyalgia. I also have vestibular dysfunction and chronic vertigo (going on my fourth year of constant spinning). My vertigo/vestibular dysfunction started 4 years ago, my fibro was diagnosed 3 years ago though I've had symptoms most of my life and I've had the EHS all my life.

FROM: jen
DATE: Thursday January 12, 2006 -- 8:29:31 pm

I have not been woken up by a big BANG, but small things wake me up as I start to fall asleep either at night or it i wake up early in the morning and decide to go back to sleep. Does this have anything to do with EHS? Also for the past 2 weeks or so every so often I hear a beat, like a faint heart beat in my ears. Does anyone know what this is? I have been under a tremendous amount of stress for a few months now. Is all this just caused by stress?

FROM: jen
DATE: Thursday January 12, 2006 -- 8:34:27 pm

I have not been woken up by a big BANG, but small things wake me up as I start to fall asleep either at night or it i wake up early in the morning and decide to go back to sleep. Does this have anything to do with EHS? Also for the past 2 weeks or so every so often I hear a beat, like a faint heart beat in my ears. Does anyone know what this is? I have been under a tremendous amount of stress for a few months now. Is all this just caused by stress?

FROM: Bob
DATE: Friday January 13, 2006 -- 6:07:23 am

Jen, I have EHS, but also some of the things you mention. A radiator ticking as it cools is enough to trigger a hearing disturbance. I also have the beat in one ear which i put down to a jumping nerve somewhere, it has come and gone for a couple of years now. Stress is, i am sure, responsible for some of what goes on.
All the best

FROM: Nick
DATE: Friday January 13, 2006 -- 8:03:09 am

WOW..there was I thinking that I was 'special' with my 'buzzing head' ..and all along I was just one of many ;-)

I'm in the UK and I started having 'EH' way back in the 70's in my teens, but in the early 80's one of the worst experiences was standing in the family house upstairs on the landing, and all of a sudden it was like there was a 'ball lightining/explosion' outside the window a few feet away and my head buzzed with an 'electrical sound' but going from one ear to the other. I also remember feeling light headed and dropping forward, like I was going to faint, but I remained conscious. Everyone else was downstairs and quite oblivious of the 'loud bang' that went off outside..and since this was not a 'first' I did not spend too long worrying about it.

Since then I have had a few more episodes over the years..no flashes of light but loud buzzing 'electrical' sounds always moving from one ear to the other ear and over in a few seconds, and very infrequent.. normally these occur as I am about to drop off to sleep.
I only drink moderately, and dont smoke, and that I am aware, I dont have any medical conditions, and certainly not on medication.

I am very spiritual and have certain 'psychic gifts' so maybe there is a connection here..?

It is a relief to know others 'suffer' with EH syndrome, but I really would like to know what is the underlying cause for this ..?

Brett (in the UK)

FROM: Exploding head from Canada
DATE: Monday January 16, 2006 -- 4:20:55 pm

like most of you, I too am VERY GLAD to see others experience the same thing. Happens just before falling asleep...loudest sound I ever heard. It always spooks me and I open my eyes. Happens rarely though. Does not really bother me, other than waking me up!

that's really all I have to say.

FROM: rene
DATE: Sunday January 22, 2006 -- 8:32:12 am

i too have heard a really loud bang just as i was floating of to sleep, i jumped up in bed asking my husband if he had heard it but he didn't hear a thing, it gave me one heck of a shock. its nice to know that there is a name for this condition.

FROM: celia from the uk
DATE: Tuesday January 31, 2006 -- 2:34:17 pm

I also have experienced these bangs and they started soon after i was diagnosed with positional vertigo and tinitus for which i have had for a year now and feel there must be a connection with the inner ear.Glad to know im not alone.

FROM: Why not
DATE: Tuesday January 31, 2006 -- 8:42:46 pm

Stumbled on this site been looking for the answer, i just had it today, for the first time. I have been under a ton of stress, dont really want to get into it all, but i was taking a nap and right on the border of sleep, it happened, a explosion of light and sound like a gun followed by a pleasant feeling in my spine and shoulders like when you crack your back. it didnt wake me up and i was subconsciously curious, as i let my thoughts float around, (now i dont recall what i was thinking about), but it happened again. my thoughts wandered and i tried to make it happen again and let them return to where they were and it happened a third time but less severe. by then i was worried i might be having a siezure or something, so i woke myself up. I was also wondering if it would be related to the sudden jerking of the body that i have experienced a couple times before on the brink of a nap. Just thought i might post in case this helped anyone

FROM: Shana from Texas
DATE: Saturday February 4, 2006 -- 12:42:12 pm

Whoo-hoo, I am not alone! I was starting to think I was developing a brain tumor or something.

Curious about one thing, though... someone a few posts back mentioned "shadow men" and I am intrigued. I've never heard of this, and I'm not sure I understand what she meant. Can anybody explain or describe this in more detail? Are we talking physical/sensory phenomenon or spiritual/paranormal thing?

Thanks, and my best to you all EHS-mates!

FROM: Severe Migraine Sufferer
DATE: Monday February 6, 2006 -- 12:02:10 pm

I came upon this site, while looking for something that explained what I was suffering from. I'm having a very loud, thunderous noise in my head that actually pushes my head over to one side. Does anyone else have that? Then it's over. I don't think I've ever heard a buzzing, electrical noise, or have seen a flash, but it's funny that I've always described it as being like lightning.

I suffer from severe migraine headaches, several times a week, and I've just started experiencing these noises. I was getting a little worried that I was developing something terrible in my brain. Glad. I think, to hear that I'm not alone here.

I don't seem to have the noise at a particular time of day or night, just anytime and often. But it's not scary. Just loud, and it seems as if others would hear it too, but they don't. I want to ask my neurologist about it next time I go in, but it seems as if y'all have had bad luck with that. No one has had anything show up on an MRI or any type of scan? Or has any clue what causes this?

My vision has been getting blury since I started having these, too. Anyone else? I take a lot of migraine medication, could that be it? To much medicine?

FROM: Brad
DATE: Monday February 6, 2006 -- 12:20:10 pm

I've had 3 of these now, and they've started within the last year or so. I'm 28, never smoked, drink occasionally, don't take medicatioin, and don't think I have alot of stress. I just had one last night, the best way for me to describe it is a 5 second buzz. It starts out quiet and goes right to a loud buzz. Electrical Buzz is the best description. Very strange, but kind of cool if you ask me.....I must be weird. Just nice to know i'm not the only one.

FROM: L K Tucker [E-Mail]
DATE: Sunday February 12, 2006 -- 12:21:23 am

After reading most of the posts what you are describing sounds like hallucinations and hearing voices.

Hearing voices includes sounds, rushing water, clicks, pops, a buzz that seems to vibrate your head, and of course actual voices.

Hallucinations can be physical symptoms as well as visual or auditory sensations.

You may be exposed to low but significant levels of visual Subliminal Distraction.

Visit the Panic attacks page at VisionAndPsychosis.Net. There are no illustrations on that page but the Space Station page uses NASA photos to illustrate the phenomenon.

Be sure to perform the psychology experiment on the Demonstration page.

If you succeed in finding exposure and stop the events email me your results. You can reach me by finding and clicking an email link to Researcher on the site.

FROM: bob
DATE: Sunday February 12, 2006 -- 6:53:01 am

I used to do this experiment with my students when i taught psychology.
It is programmed into us for our own safety. Movement seen out of the corner of your eye could be something coming to attack you and so should attract your attention!!
You can't see colour either in peripheral vision.

FROM: Lucy
DATE: Sunday February 12, 2006 -- 12:24:08 pm

I, too, get the shotgun blast just before going to sleep. Sure glad i found this site because i thought nobody in the world had this happen but me. I also have something strange just before going to sleep. When i close my eyes i see vivid color pictures changing like on tv screen...sometimes they are monster looking, other times peoples faces i don't recognize and sometimes a conglamourate of letters and numbers....really weird. Anyone else have this experience?

FROM: Peter
DATE: Sunday February 12, 2006 -- 6:21:49 pm

Like others, i've just discovered a name to something I thought only i had. It's very reassuring.

Mine takes two forms, a large crash or gunshot as others described and always as i doze off or just asleep. It mainly wakes me up with a bit of a racing heart but doesn't really bother me - in fact i quite like it. More disturbingly is when I can't wake up from it and it is accompanied by a feeling of being unable to breath with rapid heart rate and quite vivid dreams or sense of paralysis. Generally (it feels) like some minutes before i can regain full conscienceness which leaves me feeling a bit panicy. I generally have to get up for a bit to allow the feeling to subside before trying to sleep again.

I've had this for about 12 years off and on but never linked it to any external factor, i'll have to check it out. I imagine stress and disturbed sleep patterns to be the root.

FROM: Cory
DATE: Tuesday February 21, 2006 -- 11:08:35 pm

Wow, yes, last night as I was drifting off and then *BAM!* but you know, I'm used to it now so it's not scary since I know it only lasts a fraction of a second and it doesn't hurt. I told my girlfriend about it, saying "It feels like someone just bashed my forehead right between the eyes with a hammer, but it didn't hurt." If you look up Exploding Head Syndrome in Wikipedia is says that sometimes people who spend time meditating or contemplating, getting themselves into deeper mental states, often experience "Kundalini Symptoms," which is named after the Yogic ideas about chakras and a "coiled serpent" of energy along the spine and some other incredibly fascinating stuff. So I was wondering if any of you have a unique spiritual bent, or maybe have put yourself into trancelike states before.

FROM: Doc
DATE: Wednesday February 22, 2006 -- 2:35:09 pm

I beleive this is caused by Anti-Depressants. Not so much the use of them, more the discontinuation of them.
Also some food additives, so if you've started eating a particular type of food I would sugest you stop. If you've stopped eating a particular food perhaps you should resume your consumption.

FROM: Angie
DATE: Monday February 27, 2006 -- 2:21:41 pm

Hi, I was just napping about 2 hours ago and got the loud bang again. It just started happening to me about 2 months ago after having my second baby, she is now 4 months, the bangs happen almost daily, sometimes a few times a day. She has been feeding every 2-4 hours constant, and I never got a full nights sleep in over 4 months! Most of my days are spent utterly exhaused and in lombo land as I call it, cause I am so tired I get electrical zaps in my head and I can not think or even do anything more than light cleaning around the house. At one point I had 2 weeks straigt of what seemed to be vertigo, I was to dizzy to walk, I was constanly laying down, but had to take care of the kids so I sill couldn't get any sleep. When this happened, I would get tunnel vision and black out, after wards I would have facial pain. It got alot worse for me when I started taking Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oils, I thought I was having a stroke! The fats in Oils play a big role in our brains, and even though Coconut Oil is supposed to be the best food on earth, it seems to amplify my problem. I am 30 years old, I don't drink alchol, don't smoke, don't drink caffine, and always avoid medications because I am very health concious. I delivered my second baby all natural, no meds, so there was no link with meds causing the bangs in my head. Before having my babies I was a Bodybilding Athlete with only %11 body fat, and was having the best sleep ever. I have just started working out again and notticed that It happens less when I workout, but you have to watch for over exhaustion because that is what's causing it, but the benifit is that exercise reduces stress. So I only workout when my body says it's ok that day. The only advice I have for people experiencing this, is take time for yourself, and even though you may think you are not stressed, these attacks are happening for a reason. The frist step to getting rid of stress is to acknowledge that you have it. Hope this helps. Take care.

FROM: Bransonbuff
DATE: Monday February 27, 2006 -- 5:51:08 pm

About the "big bang inside the head". Been there. Done that. This "exploding head syndrome" scares the crap out of me. It has happened several times over the years. When sound asleep, there will be a sound as if someone has fired a 12-guage shotgun right by my ears, or inside my head. Instantly I'm wide awake, looking around the bedroom for the culprit. There's no pain, but there's the same ringing-in-the-ears sensation right after the "big bang" that one has when a firecracker goes off nearby, or someone fires a gun nearby. It's a distinctive "BANG!". Instantaneous. Loud. I'm glad to know it's a natural occurrence and that others have experienced the same neurological phenomenon.

FROM: julie
DATE: Wednesday March 1, 2006 -- 4:32:05 pm

check out this page I think it kinda explains things
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome

FROM: LIS
DATE: Tuesday March 7, 2006 -- 12:23:51 am

Well im 35 and have multiple sclerosis. Im not sure if i have EHS i get this all night everynight. i have not slept in days. I will be awake laying in bed or sitting or even standing and as soon as i put my head down i get a small shock on the sides of my face. If i dont move my head i will get a hugeeee loud sound then a shock from head to toe. If im sitting straight up but very relaxed and there is so much as a creak in the house i get the shocks only. I do not even sleep from this im up all night or sleep maybe 1 hour. Its very hard on me because i also work full time and i goto work on no sleep. I have a mri and a cat scan. I went to a ent for this and i call it a swooshing noise. If you put a stethascope up to my ear you can hear my ringing. I have had tinnitus for many years so the ringing does not bother me but the swooshing noise is literally giving me a nervous breakdown. I cant even sleep sitting up or with the fan on or tv or radio it does not matter i still get the swooshing. Since this occurs all the time and not just at night while sleeping im not sure if thats what i do have. The ent said with ms i prob have nerve damage in my ear she has seen it before where people have swooshing sounds in their ears with ms. But hey who knows i will for sure bring this up to my doc. Its great to find a site with this info too.
lisa

FROM: sarah
DATE: Wednesday March 8, 2006 -- 5:37:59 am

-electrical zapps, pops, bangs, squeeks etc.
- first time it happened i described it as sticking my head out of car window, flap flap of wind in ears. likened to some hard techno...beats.. Mine can really hurt sometimes. my ear drum was sore the day afer.

- i link it to stress, drug abuse, tance dance states... but also spiritual. I thought it was quite special

-linked it to lucid dreaming, out of body, sleep paralysis, sleep seizures?? (wierd unable to move or shock self awake.)

-happens more frequently when in zone between awake and asleep. Transition noises. noises marking entering another level of consiousness, whether that is plain dreaming, or lucid.

-shadow forms!...are they like intuder dreams- sort of lucid, think you awake, somone in room, have to shock self awake.

- found a site that said descriptions of near death experiences with the light and tunnel have mentioned similar noises. also people like shamans and people who meditate describe lights and noises but are able to control these kundaini experiences wheras people that dont meditate (me) have less control. http://www.meta-religion.com/Psychiatry/The_Paranormal/does_recurrent_isolated.htm

- i have psoriasis. linked to adrenal glands over working. high metaolism. but i do have very low blood pressure. I changed whole diet- no wheat, dairy, stimulants etc...only use organic etc...less frequent since the change.

i have enjoyed these experiences- novelty, excitement and mystery. Although sometimes have worried, lke you that something may be worng- y body trying to tell me somethng....
im a little concerned that no one else mentions that it is painful in the ears. well yes mentioned headaches. but not the actual ear hurting from making the sound.

maybe we are lucky and are more senstive to the 'matrix'- therefore have to deal with the odd bit of noise. a crazy witch told me that the noises were onl the begining...of journeying into controlling lucid dreaming and astral projection.......

hope this adds a few points to the discussion
so pleased to have found it!

FROM: call me Ruggy
DATE: Friday March 10, 2006 -- 2:24:42 am

Wow I just found this discussion tonight and learned the name for what I've been experiencing occasionally since I was a a very young child. Good to know I'm not alone, I guess!!

I'm 42 now and it's maybe happened about 20+ times in all... so it doesn't happen to me very often.

But I've experienced it in two or perhaps three different ways.

The "BANG" sounds like I'm in a plexiglass phone booth while somebody clobbers the outside with a baseball bat. It jolts me immediately into a wakeful state. I recall sometimes waking with a rapid pulse and thinking to myself, "Oh, that again! How annoying." And then I am able to get relaxed and go back to sleep. Sometimes I have been vaguely aware of a buildup of tension just a few seconds prior to the "BANG!"

In another form of the experinence, the "BUZZ" I've gotten is like an electric zap. It feels like someone is using a cardiac defibrillator on my head. Except, this model delivers AC shocks so it sounds more like a loud buzz. The "Tesla Coil" and "Cattle Prod" descriptions used by others also sounds very close to my experience of it. When it happens, it lasts from maybe a quarter of a second, to one second at the most. (Although it's difficult to judge the time objectively and with such retrospect.) One time I remember actually sensing the BUZZ beginning to happen, and I was able to intentionally dodge it, and avoid it for a brief time (several seconds to a minute) and then it felt as if it somehow tracked me down, followed me and caught me and then I felt the inevitable zap. (When I was a child and this happened, I pondered that maybe aliens or beings from the future had developed some kind of mind ray that could grab onto my consciousness and steal a sample of it. [Got a better explanation? Let's hear it.]) The BUZZ completely consumes my thoughts - it "becomes" my thoughts for that brief instant, and my limbs may even jerk at that point.

The "TWINGE" is a new experience for me recently, and it may or may not be related. I did not include these "twinges" in my estimation of 20+ total episodes above. AFAIK, I have only experienced this while wide awake. It feels very much like the BUZZ, except it is weaker and extremely, extremely brief (maybe lasting a tenth of a second) and has no accompanying sound. It feels like an electrically-stimulated muscle twitch from a TENS unit except one which seemingly occurs inside my skull. I think it may be related to EHS because it feels similar and when it happens, it directly derails my thought processes in a similar way. This happened about a dozen times tonight, separated by minutes or seconds, after which it subsided. I first felt it tonight while chewing a stalk of celery. Very disconcerting!

To answer some other questions, (also in case some researcher decides to study this someday) yes I am sensitive to experiences between the waking & sleeping states.. although if they're unremarkable I'll usually forget them along with my REM dreams.

I have experienced D�j� Vu probably over a hundred times in my life. What's puzzling is that a friend of mine experiences D�j� Vu only when he is in my presence. So perhaps some mindsets are contagious.

I have infrequently experienced "shadow people" off and on since childhood. But I had the most amazing experiences of this as an adult, while on vacation in Iceland, and these culimated in the experience of making direct, penetrating eye contact with one.

I've never had surgery, nor any general anesthesia. HOWEVER I did have a close incounter with death at about age 4 as a result of asthma, during which I was unconscious for some time. I still remember the entire experience vividly, except for the time spent unconscious. So this was not the classic "Near Death Experience" with visions of light or anything like that... or at least not that I've ever recalled.

While I'm on this paranormal tangent I'll mention that I experienced the beginning of a true Spiritual Awakening in 1987, a time which coincided with practicing some self-styled Chi Kung and also a Vipassana-like form of Meditation, as taught by the Gurdjieff Foundation (who refer to the technique as "The Sitting.") Though I've never formally practiced Yoga, I think have a sense for what Kundalini is. I definitely know what Chi, or Qi is. During my search for truth, I also looked into the local pagan community, and became familiar with that side of things as well. I have not been living a strongly spiritual life for years, I will say. From 1987 up until about 2 months ago, I experienced psi phenomena on nearly a daily basis. Now I feel nearly nothing "there."

People have described me as intense, introspective, intuitive, creative, and even brilliant. But I'm very far from perfect. Two months ago I started getting some really strange symptoms which include dizziness, paresthesias, clumsiness, headaches and also the "twinges" mentioned above. My new house turned out to be very high in EMF so I'm working on reducing it. My current theory of what happened to me that I maybe had one isolated episode of reactive hypoglycemia two months ago which scared the pants off me (thought I was gonna die), and resulted in several weeks of anxiety, complete with anxiety attacks and panic attacks... which are also very new experences for me. It's been rough.

And now I'm getting these "twinges." To someone sensitive to his body and is accustomed to understanding things, it's been a pretty disorienting 2 months for me. I've had a CT/MRI/MRA/EKG and other tests which were all normal. 8 doctors and 5 kilobucks later, still no diagnosis. My current medical search using Google is what led me to this site, actually. Then I found the Wiki page. I didn't expect to find any reference to this experience at all.

Well, at least now I can have some revenge by telling my neurologist that along with whatever else is up with me, I also have a history of "Exploding head Syndrome."

Man, I love the ring of that. It really makes me smile!

Thanks...
-Ruggy

FROM: Eek
DATE: Monday March 13, 2006 -- 4:49:58 pm

Like so many of you have reiterated, it is a relief to know that these things happen to other people. I told my doc after the second time it happened when I was 20 and I got the impression she thought I was making it up. Gael's description (July 2005) of different types of noises is most accurate to my experiences. Sometimes there is no noise at all but I ALWAYS feel like I'm getting electrocuted, usually starting in my head and working down to my feet. Other times it was like the stun gun in the ribs...my least favorite episode. I didn't even realize that the auditory component was the most well documented feature, but now I can think back to several episodes where there was clanging, whooshing, sounds like blood running past my ear, whooping, bangs or even one time that I thought a car drove right through the bedroom wall. My mom was visiting and didn't hear a peep. I have since reconsidered this episode as EHS. I have not seen any 'shadowpeople'...thank god...that would scare the crap out of me.
My bio is ex-smoker, no surgeries, no drugs, 1-2 cups a coffee/day before 2 pm, moderate drinker and have only recently begun taking medicine for a hormone disorder, but it hasn't altered the frequency of the attacks. I am in a Genetics PhD program and have access to some medical journals, thus I found this brief review thats written for the layman in Headache, vol. 41 pp. 602-603, year 2001 that MAY be accessible to non-university individuals.
Please respond if anyone knows of a current study on EHS that is looking for participants. Thank you and nice to know we're not alone!

FROM: major
DATE: Thursday March 16, 2006 -- 12:28:00 am

My mother is experiencing the same.GR8 that it is not a serious illness.
major

FROM: Maja
DATE: Thursday March 16, 2006 -- 4:42:26 am

Hey

Good to know that I am not alone :)

Excuse my terrible English, I am not from a English-speaking country.

The first time I experienced EHS was in 1990, and I was 20 years old.
It was terrible and still are.
A loud bzzz-like or svosj- like sound in my head and it feels like my head are getting electrocuted. I can somtimes feel it in my hole body.
Sometimes I can't go to sleep again because it will happen over and over again.
I can sometimes when I am very tierd, hear a weaker repetly sound after I have left the bed, followed by a tickeling in my body. Like weak electrical power.

FROM: pete
DATE: Thursday March 16, 2006 -- 11:46:56 am

I've died hundreds if not thousands of times because of ehs. Years ago my mother died suddenly of a stroke. With every ehs episode I have, i think i too am dying. Obviously it is extremely stressful to try to go back to sleep after feeling the shocking pain in the head and hearing the loud bang. It is almost as if the ehs feeds upon itself. There is a connection to anxiety, stress and fatigue.
I hate to feel like I will be living with this the rest of my life as I am still relatively young. All I want is a peaceful nights sleep.

FROM: Nancy
DATE: Thursday March 16, 2006 -- 4:12:51 pm

Wow! I'll say it again, "I't's comforting to know that I'm not alone."

It's been awhile since I've experienced EHS but I remember the first it time it happened. It was several years ago and I had just dozed off for the night and suddenly awoke with a jolting feeling...like the bed was moving. I thought it was an earthquake. There was no earthquake....

Some years back I used acupuncture/herbs extensively for a viral treatment and I wonder if that may have something to do with it....the Qi ????

FROM: Eek
DATE: Thursday March 16, 2006 -- 6:57:52 pm

Hi again. I'm putting together a composition of EHS, or Exploding Head Syndrome based on comments in peer-reviewed scientfic journals (see references below) and comments posted in this bulletin (which are the most helpful since some of the science journals may as well be in whale-talk for all I know). When I first used the internet to explore my EHS experiences, I thought it was a dream so I was looking in the wrong places. It only recently occured to me that it could be a sleep disorder rather than a dream.

According to the aformentioned review by JMS Pearce (whom also coined 'Exploding Head Syndrome'; RW Evans and JMS Pearce, Headache 2001; vol. 41: pp. 602-603), symptoms that may be EHS were published in 1890 by Weir Mitchel in the International Journal of Medical Science (vol. 100: pp. 109-127) as a feeling of 'sensory shocks'.

Exploding Head Syndrome:

-Is physiological rather than psychological or a dream.

-Can occur at any age, though apparently is most common in those over 50 (as reported in Cohen and Kaube, Current Opinion in Neurology, 2004 vo. 17: pp295-299). I get the feeling that this isn't well documented, probably because it sounds crazy.

-Occurs in a slightly higher frequency in males than females (2:3 ratio; Cohen and Kaube).

-Is transient in both duration (how long the episode occurs) and frequency (how often individuals experience attacks), though weekly and nightly occurences must be rare.

-May occur more frequently during stress or overtired and overworked (Pearce), after consuming caffeinated beaverages, or on certain medications (caffeine and medications reported by you guys in the 'ping'), though the latter items have not been published in peer review. Somebody (either here or sleep.net) reported having EHS while on vacation...I did too!

-There may be a sleep position that induces it more than not. Some of you said it's more often when you are on your back, but this could be an individual comfort level.

-May occur during any stage/phase of REM, but usually occurs as the body is falling asleep or awaking (Cohen and Kaube; Evans and Pearce).

-Can manifest as a loud noise that sounds like a shotgun bang, loud bang, explosion, electrical 'tesla coil-sound', whooshing, metal clanging...you name it.

-May be accompanied by 'flickering lights', though is reportedly rare in only 10% of reported instances (see Cohen and Kaube).

-May manifest as electrical sensations in head, body or both with or without the 'bang' or other auditory noise. Physical movements may result from these types of feelings, though lets not confuse this with the old 'I'm about to fall asleep and then I'm jolted awake'. That's something else and NOT EHS.

-Are NOT caused by lesion in the brain, epilepsy, seizures, or other conditions. One report on 9 individuals monitored using EEG said 5 out of 9 had an epsiode when monitored and all showed increased alertness and were considered awake at the time of the episode. This tells me that it's a bunch of poppy-cock. I would probably have to spend a whole year in a sleep lab before I actually had an episode. 5 out of 9? COME-ON! those people must have been faking it.

-Are considered 'harmless' (Evans and Pearce; Cohen and Kaube), though frightening and may cause heart palpitations (in other words, you feel freaked out by it).

-Is speculated to be caused by a delay in the switch from "motor, sensory, visual, and auditory parts of the cerebral hemispheres" (Evans and Pearce) as we pass from wakefulness to sleep and vice versa.

-Does not cause your head to explode. Duh.

-Can be ameliorated by the knowledge that EHS is harmless.

-There are no peer-reviewd reports to my knowledge that EMS is caused by surgical anestesia, drug abuse, spirits, ghosts, shadowmen but lots of you have pulled together some, uh, ideas.

Hey guys, just keep it coming with your EHS stories, thoughts, and theories. It's both interesting and comforting! I think it would be fun and interesting if somebody would put together an online questionierre about EHS such as current age, gender, age of onset, medications, frequency, duration, symptoms (types of noises, sensations), sleep position, whether it happens when you're falling asleep or awake etc. It would probably be the most comprehensive study to date on EHS!

FROM: Maja
DATE: Thursday March 16, 2006 -- 8:43:16 pm

Eek wrote:
I think it would be fun and interesting if somebody would put together an online questionierre about EHS such as current age, gender, age of onset, medications, frequency, duration, symptoms (types of noises, sensations), sleep position, whether it happens when you're falling asleep or awake etc. It would probably be the most comprehensive study to date on EHS!

----

That's a very good idea!


I have asked in forums, I have asked norwegian online-doctors about EHS, and I have read everything I could find about EHS on the internet.
Few answers, and a lot of crap.
So I belive this site are the best EHS-site on the net.

FROM: Paul
DATE: Thursday March 16, 2006 -- 8:51:39 pm

So I belive this site are the best EHS-site on the net.

That is really impressive.

The Daily Ping: Your Exploding Head Resource.

FROM: Nancy
DATE: Friday March 17, 2006 -- 11:03:56 am

Come to think of it the very first time it (EHS) happened was about 20 years ago right after a head injury (nothing serious...or so I thought). I woke up to a loud "bang". This I have experienced about 4 times since...but the jolting around while in bed like an earthquake is another type of sensation.... Also once one of the episodes felt like an "electrical" sensation throughout. All of this has happened while I was in a light slumber just after retiring for the evening.

To Lili, I too have had vertigo but that was many years ago and lasted for about 4 months. It went away after a chiro adjustment..(?)...Occasionally I experience episodes of vertigo but it's only momentary....

FROM: Steve
DATE: Saturday March 18, 2006 -- 7:39:38 pm

I get this occasionally but it used to happen more often.

The loud bang and the almost simontanious flash of light , but in fact I think the flash of light occurs a split second after the bang.

When it happened more often I learned to try and disregard the asscociated fear and electrical impulse and listen to the bang and look at the light.

The bang is indeed like a gun going off inside the head.
The flash of light is more like a white sheet.

It all happens in an instant and can be quite scarey.

The last time it happened was a few weeks ago, a bit different then, instead of a white sheet of light, I experienced what can only be described as fork-lightning......just like looking into the black night sky and a sudden flash of fork-lightning.

I suppose doctors dont know everything, if they did there'd be nothing left for them to learn.

Anyway it's a weird thing and the silly name of it doesn't help people to take it seriously.

FROM: Carldene
DATE: Tuesday March 21, 2006 -- 3:35:24 am

It has a name! Odd that I found this. It was in a link in an email. I've told my husband about this for years, and he thinks I'm just having a dream where there's a loud bang. Here's what I experience...The loud bang to me sounds like someone slamming a door, but it's definitely in my head. I've also experienced the "electrical" sound in my ear, but I never put it together with the bang. I sometimes hear this same sound when awake. To me, the sound has always seemed like a cricket chirping inside my ear. I really just ignore all of this. I'll certainly pay more attention in the future. Don't recall a bright light flash, but will be more aware in future incidents. There's no pain associated with this, and I haven't noticed gasping for breath.

I wonder if this is more common than the information on the web says it is? I ask because a couple of days ago I spoke with my niece, and she says the same thing happens to her. Or maybe it's hereditary?

As far as my personal information:
I've had general anesthesia once, about 30 years ago.
I only drink caffeine when I go to a restaurant.
I don't think of myself as sleep-deprived, or particularly stressed.
I did find out a few months ago that I have high blood pressure.
I've only had about 20-30 of these incidents over the years.
Can't say when they started.
I had encephalitis 2 years running when I was in my teens.
I wake up numerous times (sometimes 10-20) during the night.
I've had insomnia before, but not in probably 20 years.
I fall asleep quickly at night. In fact, my husband is quite jealous. We're just the opposite. It takes him a long time to fall asleep, but he sleeps like a log. I can fall asleep on a dime, but I wake up tons of times. I used to attribute this to the fact that when I was in my teens, I was in an apartment fire that occurred during the night, and I thought it was paranoia linked to that.
I've been taking over-the-counter generic Tylenol PM to try to get a more uninterupted sleep, and it seems to help.

FROM: Marjorie
DATE: Friday March 24, 2006 -- 5:24:31 pm

Look up exploding head syndrome. It happened to me in my waking hours. Though it was an anomaly special to me. Turns out it is not.

FROM: Urban
DATE: Sunday March 26, 2006 -- 2:21:34 am

I have had the experience of the loud bang inside (or outside) my head since I was a teenager. I am in my forty's now. It does happen durring a light sleep but it also happens when I am fully awake. It happens to me infrequently enough that when it does happen and I'm driving I check my car for cracked windows or dents. However, every time the bang has that odd characteristic of being inside and outside there has never been evidence of something striking the car or of an actual noise (e.g. birds did not take flight, Kitty did not look up, alerted, etc...). I wonder about a psychic connection since I heard that a bang (or two) often accompanies the leaving of a spirit (see the true story of the exorcist also other stories of posession and demonic spirits). I don't know how much stock I put in that. Any thoughts would be welcome. It does not seem to be related to physical problems. I have a normal neuro profile, some digestive problmes but do not notice more at one time than another (so far as I have observed). Thanks

FROM: eek
DATE: Sunday March 26, 2006 -- 12:56:58 pm

Urban, please see my extended thoughts and research on EHS above (Th March 16th). I haven't come across much about it happening during daylight hours when one is obviously awake. I once thought that happened to me when I was milling around my apartment, but that evening there was a news clip about a plane breaking the sound barrier over Lake Ontario and a bunch of people called the police thinking it was something more frightening.
My mom keeps offering spiritual explanations but being a scientist, I'm more drawn to the physiology of EHS, not that I'm dismissing alternative explanations. Just be thankful it isn't harmfull. At least it may be interesting to discuss at a cocktail party...but I wouldn't if it invovled co-workers. Just sounds too weird!

FROM: liz
DATE: Sunday March 26, 2006 -- 10:35:35 pm

I have been experiancing EHS for some years now and was very relieve when I found this site and discovered so many others get the same.
My theory is that new areas of the brain are being born, like a mini Big Bang, and since I'm smarter now than ever :-) just a thought..........

FROM: head case
DATE: Monday March 27, 2006 -- 8:04:30 am

mini-electrical explosions. white sheet good analysis. cars wrecking, gunshots outside window, door slamming, crash inside house, all these things for 10 years. Thanks for the site.....do others have headaches not associated with the experience?

FROM: Steve
DATE: Monday March 27, 2006 -- 9:06:29 am

I know this feeling all too well. I have lived with this since I was a small child. Lying in bed and only just beginning to drift off, a very loud buzz would startle me. I can only describe this as the sound of an electric drill inside my head accompanied by what feels like an electric shock inside my head. This would most often repeat itself as multiple instances. In such cases, I would become distressed and occasional get out of bed too afraid to try and sleep. The sound and feeling is horrible.

In addition, people and objects would either shrink into the distance (accompanied by all sounds becoming very soft), or sometimes objects would appear to be incredibly large (accompanied by all sounds being loud and invasive).

My life has been filled with unexplained phenomena and experiences that became 'normal' to me. These included incredibly accurate premonitions/visions, healing, readings for some friends (have never been interested in using such 'gifts' for monetary gain), seeing auras, major poltergeist activity and one banshee experience (I performed the exorcism ritual).

I am now 44 (at the time of writing this note). Most of these experiences stopped suddenly and inexplicably during the early 90s.
Some 'buzzing' has occurred infrequently and I have started again to have very mild cases of ESP.
I have never taken medication nor been treated for Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.
I suffer depression and have been on meds for this since 1997.

What do I make of it? I dunno

FROM: E-ROCK
DATE: Monday March 27, 2006 -- 12:24:16 pm

THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME FOR YEARS. LOUD EXPLOSION AND BRIGHT LIGHTS THAT FLASH. I HEARD OF EXPLODING HEAD SYNDROME ABOUT 14 YEARS AGO WHEN MY DOCTOR TOLD ME ABOUT IT. NOT MUCH WAS KNOWN ABOUT IT THEN. I AM GLAD TO KNOW IT IS NOTHING TERMINAL OR THREATENING.

FROM: NS
DATE: Sunday April 2, 2006 -- 4:36:49 am

I am 30 yrs old and I had my first episode of EHS 2 weeks ago and it freaked me out. It sounded like a bomb went off in my head and I thought I had gone deaf because it also sounded like my eardrums exploded. I think I saw a flash of bright light as well. I've had a total of 3 episodes so far and it's always right before I'm about to fall asleep. I always go to sleep on my back. I have been under moderate stress and fatigue lately so maybe it is related... I was really glad to read these postings and to know there is a name for this thing, weird as it is. I can only hope there will be more research on the causes of EHS and how to prevent it.

Other than the EHS I've had vertigo a few times which also scared the crap out of me and it happened when I jerked my head suddenly, but I haven't had that for over a year. Also, I get this very odd thumping sound in one of my ears, and the strange part is, being around certain people trigger it almost every time ... I did have some frequent eye-lid twitching around the same time as the EHS episodes. Maybe it's related.

FROM: Tinnadmin
DATE: Tuesday April 4, 2006 -- 8:43:49 pm

I've had this condition for about a year and a half. It's a neurological syndrome, nothing to do with spirits or the occult. My symptoms are related to lying down and relaxing. They occur before I fall asleep, not afterward; sometimes I've also had brief, sudden ear noises in the morning before rising. Often I have two or three mild episodes in the same night.

The reported rapid heartbeat is probably a fear reaction rather than part of the syndrome proper. I can imagine that the noises and lights would be scary if you didn't know what they were.

For those who described ear noises: If you hear your pulse in your ears, you have pulsatile tinnitus. If you hear crickets where there aren't any, you have another kind of tinnitus. Spasms of the stapedial muscle in the middle ear can cause snapping or banging sounds. Anyone who wants answers about ear noise is welcome at the Tinnitus Support Message Board, an ezboard support forum. You can find it easily by typing "tinnitus support" into Google.

FROM: Marty
DATE: Wednesday April 5, 2006 -- 12:58:26 am

I'm 35 yrs. old and I've had this, on and off, for years. It started when I was a kid. It never scared me, or made me wonder about my sanity, or suspect ghosts, because I could always tell that it was inside my head and it sort of felt similiar to the occasional leg twitch I get while falling asleep--some sort of brain fart or neurological twitch. However, it's startling when it happens because I never expect it and it is always unpleasant, especially when it repeats two or three times the same night.

I read about Exploding Head years ago, a brief mention in a book about sleep function, and I immediately recognized it. It's unmistakable if it's ever happened to you. For me, it always happens as I'm falling asleep and the best way I've found to describe it is that-- it's like something suddenly and without warning yanks the volume knob on my thoughts to Glass-shattering Maximum for one split second. If a noise that loud happened outside my head, it would make my ears hurt; but since it's just in my head, there's no pain or discomfort at all. Just that really unpleasant moment of "explosion" and startlement.

Some doctors suspect that stress and tension play a part in the syndrome. I've also read that some doctors suspect that it may be related to a sudden movement of fluid or similiar disturbance in the middle ear. As I also suffer motion sickness, this theory is interesting to me and I hope someday they'll study whether this is a possible correlation.

FROM: Marty
DATE: Wednesday April 5, 2006 -- 2:37:43 am

Additional:

Sometimes I do experience a flash of light with EHS, but the sound effects are always predominant for. I have never experienced EHS in deep sleep; have never been woken out of a sound sleep by it. I've never had it happen when I was fully awake during the day.

I've never taken anti-depressants or sleeping pills. I've never used hallucinogenics or any other type of illegal drug. I rarely drink alcohol (one or two drinks per YEAR is about my limit.) I don't smoke. I do drink iced tea on a daily basis, but I've had EHS since long before I was a regular caffeine consumer (i.e., since I was a young child.)

I do not have any illness, chronic or accute. I have never had surgery. I have never spent a day in a hospital since I was born. I have never experienced "shadow forms" or sleep paralysis.

It usually takes me twenty minutes to half an hour to fall into a complete sleep state. I occasionally have insomnia, usually when I am under stress but I can't remember experiencing EHS when I've had these rare episodes of sleeplessness.

I have had only one genuine migraine headache in my life and that was due entirely to fatigue. However, I do have sinus headaches now and then, and, as stated above, I'm a victim (there's no other name for it) of motion sickness and I have been all my life.

FROM: Nickleen
DATE: Friday April 7, 2006 -- 6:14:23 pm

Wow! My friend thinks that I am crazy. Finally I have found that there are others that have this. Let me tell you, the noise is tremendously loud, like a giant thick slab of steel falling over. It scares me so much sometimes that I can't get back to sleep for hours. It is usually brought on when I am really tired and have a cup of coffee before bed. My doctor had never heard of this syndrome before and my friend suggested that they were tiny anyurisms. That scared me even more. I was so happy when I found that this does exist and that it isn't dangerous. Sometimes the noise is quieter and I can hear my name being called out very sharply, like a warning. Usually when that happens, I freak out and run upstairs to check on my kids.

FROM: Al
DATE: Friday April 7, 2006 -- 6:51:47 pm

I get that but its worse when it happens more than once in a night, with me its like someone suddenly screams or shouts right in my ear and afterwards I'm nervous to sleep again in case it happens.

FROM: Kevin
DATE: Tuesday April 11, 2006 -- 1:59:01 pm

Wow. Like many of you, I've thought this was something unique to myself. I've mentioned it to people over the years and nobody has ever said they experience it too. I can't believe I never thought to do a search on the internet. I've been feeling light headed recently, which prompted the search that lead me to this site. Thank God I did! It's so nice to know I'm not going to fall over dead from this... which is what I was convinced would happen to me one day, LOL. What a relief to find out that it happens to others, and it's not going to kill me.

Love the name btw, can't wait to tell people I have Exploding Head Syndrome, LOL.

For those of you who are gathering data about EHS...

I've had it happen for as long as I can remember, but more frequently as an adult. It doesn't happen with any regularity. I've went months and not had it occur, then had it happen several times in one week. It's always the same though... like a VERY loud gunshot or a lightning bolt going off in my head (sometimes I could swear it feels like an electrical shock), just as I'm drifting off to sleep. I've never had it occur during the day while awake, nor during deep sleep. I know that sometimes there is a flash of light, but I'm not sure if it happens everytime. I've also felt a brief, thud-like sensation, but I have to wonder if this is imagined... since I'm waking up to what sounds like a gunshot to my head. As you all know, it's a terrifying way to wake up, and the noise is what gets most of my attention, so the details are a little sketchy.

Also, I've suffered from insomnia all my life, even as a child. I currently take several medications, including Lunesta for the insomnia, but the EHS began long before I ever took meds on a regular basis. Stats... male, 39.

And... THANK YOU for creating this site! It is such a relief to finally know what the "big bang in my head" is all about :)

FROM: Fiona
DATE: Tuesday April 11, 2006 -- 2:12:34 pm

Wow seems this is not such a rare condition after all. Look at all the responses!

I started getting this about a year ago and put it down to the massive amount of psychedelic drugs I took when I was a kid. I thought it was the inevitable deterioration of my brain, that I would eventually go crazy and I should just lump it because I brought it on myself. Thank goodness this is not the case and my irresponsible youth has not, as yet, caused any serious ramifications.

For me it usually sounds like a loud pop, I have had the crackling lighting sound too. I get it mostly when I just drop off to sleep but I have heard strange noises during the day too. For example a really loud door bell sound like a "ding dong" while I was walking down a busy high street. My boyfriend didn't hear a thing and we both thought I was going a bit mental for a bit. I don't get any of the bright flashes most other people describe though.

Luckily after a while it calmed down, probably because my life isn�t a stressful as it was. I still get it from time to time but pretty rarely. It�s nice to know I'm not crazy and that I suffer from a rare condition with a hell of a cool name.

Now I shall rush out and tell all my friends just how cool I am. Hurrah!

FROM: afrazkhan [E-Mail]
DATE: Wednesday April 12, 2006 -- 7:55:39 am

Heya,

I thought I'd join this "Exploding Head Syndrome Sufferers Group", as it's turning out to be.

I was reading a story from digg.com on the top 11 weirdest disorders. Chuckling away at how wonderfully insane some humans are, I suddenly stopped smiling; "I have that!". I couldn't believe there was a name for it, and other people suffer from it too. This is an excellent disorder to have. It's completely harmless (or so they say), and yet has the most amazing name.

I have a feeling it's to do with stress. I only get it when I'm exhausted, but stressed about something. Sometimes under those conditions I get the muscle spasms that some people here were describing, instead. It's as if your body and conscious mind want to rest, but there's something in your brain refusing to because it thinks there's some important task that needs to be taken care of.

I'm fairly sure that the muscle spasm is a milder form of the bang. Notice that you also get the spasm when you fall asleep in strange places (like the bus). Perhaps this is because your brain disagrees with the decision to fall asleep in such a potentially dangerous place? If that's the case then EHS makes sense when you're stressed; it's your brain saying "Nope, you can't fall asleep now, there's important stuff to do!".

Shut up brain. I make the decisions around here!

FROM: Brian
DATE: Wednesday April 12, 2006 -- 7:22:08 pm

Wow, I thought I was nuts. I get it mildy compared to some people on here, but I finally know what it is. I would tell friends about it and they would just give me blank stares. I feel validated :)

FROM: Viktor
DATE: Wednesday April 12, 2006 -- 9:31:32 pm

I've had this as long as I can remember. Occasionally I will hear a very, very loud metallic sound in my head, almost like a KRREANG! right when I am about to drift in to sleep. And at the same time feel something like an electric jolt to the head. I usually see some kind of glowing pattern before my eyes also. Never "lightning" as some have described it, more of a faint colorful pattern against a black background.

I have never felt a "gunshot", only that metallic sound.

It might happen more often when I am very tired and have consumed lot of coffeine (I say this because I remember I often have these incidents when I have stayed up all night playing video games and drinking cola)

I have had trouble sleeping as long as I can remember too, It usually takes me at least 1-2 hours to fall asleep every night.

It's probably without any relation, but I might as well mention that I feel the Deja Vu feeling very often, almost once every day. Sometimes it's so strong I get scared.

FROM: Another Exploding Head in Canada
DATE: Friday April 14, 2006 -- 1:37:51 am

Like many I�m also relieved not to be alone. I haven�t told anyone about the strange noise because I�m viewed as an �intense� (read �different�) person as it is. I entered �loud bang before falling asleep� into the search engine and Bam! (no pun intended) I found this and the Wikipedia entry.
My noise is definitely a loud, deep bang. It sometimes hurts. Usually it just scares me. It seems to happen before I fall into deep sleep.
The first time I remember it happening was a scary night. That time, I was already sleeping and dreaming when suddenly my dream changed. Dreams do sometimes shift direction but this was different. I won�t get into the details because I still think it�s weird and it still makes me shudder even though it�s been about 5 years now. But after my dream changed, I heard a loud bang. I woke up and all was quiet so I started suspecting that the noise came from my head.
Thirty seconds later, the emergency vehicles stopped outside my building. In the sleepy confusion, I thought it must have been the sirens that woke me up but the noise has been happening since. It seems to be happening randomly. I�m not completely convinced by the stress explanation because I�m always under stress.
However, since surendipity asked:
>Are you sensitive to the experience between the point of awakeness into
sleep?

Yes. I often know when I am falling asleep and how deeply.

>Have any of you experienced Shadowmen at anytime in your lives?
Shadowmen (dark blobs or dark figures)

If you mean by Shadowmen, dark, featureless figures that are not �really� there, then yes. I usually see one when I�m very tired and/or sleep-deprived.
It makes pulling all-nighters a very unpleasant experience!

>Have any of you had surgery under a General Anesthetic prior to the EHS?
Have you had any General Anesthetic surgery in the past?

Yes, but it was a long time before my EHS, 15 years before�

>Are you open to paranormal believes or religious/spiritual believes?

Yes.

>Do they happen more in the middle of the month?

Haven�t tracked them yet but will from now on�

>Are you aware of your surroundings during this bang, or do you have to come into reality and focus into an awakeness first?

Still somewhat aware. I am aware that I am about to slip into unconsciousness and it is at this �transition point� that I hear the sound. It brings me back to a fully awake (and I mean fully, nothing like a gunshot sound to get the heart pumping) state.

>Are you prone to insomnia?

Yes. Absolutely!
If anyone hears of any development or research linked to this condition, please post.

It�s helpful to hear about everyone�s experiences. Thanks for sharing!

(As someone said, �Gotta love the Internet!�)

FROM: Another Exploding Head in Canada
DATE: Friday April 14, 2006 -- 1:40:29 am

Forgot to mention, I am a REGULAR migraine sufferer. The bad, aura and nausea-causing kind!

FROM: Me [E-Mail]
DATE: Friday April 14, 2006 -- 6:15:58 am

Something quite similar occurs with me too, but it's just more weird.
I can hear a sound, it can be anything from an electroshock to a man talking rubbish. It lasts for about 2-4 seconds. But when it's over, I forget what I've been thinking of for the last 5-10 minutes! Guess I have a rare variant of this syndrome...EHSRML? (Exploding Head Syndrome Resulting in Memory Loss)

FROM: lady from ohio
DATE: Wednesday April 19, 2006 -- 4:41:24 am

i play a lot of games on the playstation and noticed that when i really play too much i have Exploding Head Syndrome when going to sleep, maybe this has a lot to do with it.

FROM: nishat
DATE: Wednesday April 19, 2006 -- 5:10:09 am

Thank God for google.AT LAST I KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME. I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLYONE.I HAVE HAD THIS SINCE 21 YEARS I GUESS IT STARTED AFTER MY FIRST CHILD WAS BORN.I TOO HEAR THE LOUDEST BANG AND SOMETIMES WITH BRIGHT LIGHTS.ITS A METALLIC SOUND FOR SURE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY THANG GOD I M NOT ALONE

FROM: nyetbhuy9
DATE: Friday April 28, 2006 -- 10:43:37 am

i think this is a bunch of crap and people should not wory their pretty little noisy heads about it

FROM: sd
DATE: Friday April 28, 2006 -- 4:03:54 pm

Hmm. Interesting.

I have this, but slightly different.

I'm not aware of it happening while I'm sleeping, but it frequently happens while I'm just dozing off - eg if I'm watching the TV on the sofa, and start falling alseep.

I don't get a bang like most of you do, it's just this kind of crazy shock feling in my head, and for a few seconds afterwards I feel like i'm parylised. I can get several in a row, and normally I wake myself up (sit up, or something) so I'm fully awake, and it stops.

I can feel slightly dazed for a few minutes afterwards.

I assumed it was something like a mini epileptic fit, but it never affected me enough to bother getting it checked. I'm not really a doctor guy.

Spooky.

FROM: sd
DATE: Friday April 28, 2006 -- 4:23:48 pm

To answer the questions;

>>Are you sensitive to the experience between the point of awakeness into
sleep?

- Not always, but when it happens, I am just about falling asleep. It's clear this often happen as the brain is either winding down towards sleep (or just waking up, but I have never had this) or is asleep - I wonder if the few people who get it when they are fully awake are actually tired, and the brain is slow at the time?

>> Have any of you experienced Shadowmen at anytime in your lives?
Shadowmen (dark blobs or dark figures)

- No, never.

>> Have any of you had surgery under a General Anesthetic prior to the EHS?

- No. Never.

>> Have you had any General Anesthetic surgery in the past?

- Ditto.

>> Are you open to paranormal believes or religious/spiritual believes?

- I'm going to say no, although this started happening to me shortly after my father died, and a passing thought was that maybe he was trying to contact me . . . I was a kid at the time, but generally speaking I don't believe any of that kind of stuff. Seems it wasn't the case anyway.

>> Do they happen more in the middle of the month?

- Don't know.

>> Are you aware of your surroundings during this bang, or do you have to come into reality and focus into an awakeness first?

- Immediately aware it has happened, although as said, I'm normally kind of dozing off at the time, so I wouldn't say I was 100% alert.

>> Are you prone to insomnia?

Nope, have never had any sleep problems.

FROM: MM in TX
DATE: Saturday April 29, 2006 -- 2:44:40 pm

Wow! I am not the only crazy one!

I have only had this happen a couple of times. The last time was about five years ago. I was going through a divorce and very stressed. I remember trying to find something on the web about it then, and used the words "head bang explosion" in the search engine. There was not much info about it then.

It did not seem to happen as I was falling asleep, but instead woke me out of a deep sleep. I also had an accompanying flash of light. What happens to me more frequently is to be awakened by the sound of the doorbell ringing. No one else hears it but me, and they all act like I am crazy (I am married and have three teenaged daughters).

I do sometimes get silent migraines; don't know if this is at all related.

FROM: Matt
DATE: Monday May 8, 2006 -- 8:45:54 am

PS
Went to the doctors about it... (you'd think it'd really concern them wouldn't you, at least send me for a scan!!!)... he said it was due to a stiff neck, and he gave me some stretching exercises to do!

I mean, c'mon! Someone needs to professionally look into this!, doctors don't seem to have a clue!!!

FROM: Matt
DATE: Monday May 8, 2006 -- 8:46:57 am

My experience -

I'm asleep. All of a sudden I'm not. Gradually my head is tensing up from the inside out. My whole body is paralysed! This is not a dream, I feel the bed underneath me, this is real. I'm awake, but only to experience what is happening to my body.
I hear a loud roar, as if the blood is being pushed through my ears at an alarming rate. I can't see, there's just so many pin pricks of light, the same as you get if you bump your head quite hard, but doubled. My teeth are clamped together and I can't open my mouth to call for help, my head feels like there's so much pressure in it that it will actually burst! There's a lump in my throat. I think this would be caused by the fear. The pressure becomes worse & and worse... when will it end. There's no way of telling how long this lasts for. I'd say seconds, but it seems like a lifetime. You feel as if you're dying. It's a confusing time, but you are completely aware of what's happening.
The pressure becomes to much to bear, it's painful, but more in an extremely uncomfortable way (I'm sure it's similar to being shot in the head, but who knows as no one usually survives that!).
Gradually the tension drifts away, the sound in my ears still carries on but slowly drifts away too, and when it's over, my body is so worn out and relieved that it's over, I just rest my head on the pillow (which I must say feels SO good!!!) and I just fall back to sleep again.

That's happened about 5 or 6 times in my lifetime. I'm now 25.

I'd like to hear from anyone else who's had similar, so please feel free to email me.

Many Thanks,
Matt.

FROM: Mel
DATE: Friday May 12, 2006 -- 6:42:02 pm

Just nice to know I'm not alone in these what can only be described as unreal experiences.Only had a few of them and they have always sounded like a lightening strike has just gone off in my head, waking me from sleep. My heart races and my head pounds for a few brief moments then normality eventualy returns, but leaves me wondering what the hec is wrong with my head? I've even had the telephone sound ring once to me picking it up to find no one there. Its all very strange. Had my last EHS last night. Pregnant at the moment, got very worried. Had the last ones while pregnant before, wondering if they could be connected?

FROM: cody [E-Mail]
DATE: Tuesday May 16, 2006 -- 5:12:59 pm

'ive had too many surgeries on my neck and back...now with these horrible head explosions, i'm in constant pain from the jerking/shaking that comes with the explosions.........please, i beg you , is there any way to get this to stop???

FROM: C
DATE: Wednesday May 17, 2006 -- 7:29:26 pm

In response to cory, Tuesday February 21, 2006 -- 11:08:35 pm

I have been getting these since I was about 16. Mine have been very loud but have never been frightening. Except for the odd time, these always happen while I am in a trance like state. I often go to sleep with a completely cleared mind. Although I am consious, I have no thought...after a while like that I start to dream but I am not quite asleep and then it happens My eyes open wide and I am completely awake. Once though, I had turned off my alarm and fallen back to sleep and was woken up by one of these things....I made it to work on time! I was very greatful!

FROM: aglae
DATE: Tuesday May 23, 2006 -- 8:42:05 am

I am 58. I have these explosions since a little bit more than one year now : at the moment that I am falling asleep, a big bang in my head. After that I feel my heart beating and I am very scared. I was thinking to speak about it with my doctor, but thought he was going to call me crazy. So, it makes me feel better to find this on internet.
Trying to find out why this started!
I never had insomnia, only drink coffee in the morning (one cup), never took antidepressives or other drugs.....I thought that maybe there was a connection with the medecine I take for my menopause or my thyroid (hormonal) since 3 years.
But it could be some kind of stress or anxiety also because I have been attacked in my house and raped two years ago. And since then I do never feel safe any more and I have also nightmares, something that I really never, never had before!
I am also living in a village that was hit by the tsunami last year.
But it simply could be related to ear problems : I have always been sensible from the eustachius tromps (in airplanes, lifts, mountains) and I also am dizzy very easily. About that I had my ears controlled, and I even had an EEG, but nothing wrong!
Anyway, it feels good to know this has a name and I am not the only one to have this. But there really should be some research about it, no?

FROM: Eek
DATE: Wednesday May 24, 2006 -- 12:41:02 pm

Aglae, please my posting on Thursday March 16, 2006 -- 6:57:52 pm above. Also, here are some reviews that mention EHS.

RW Evans and JMS Pearce, Headache 2001; vol. 41: pp. 602-603
Weir Mitchel, International Journal of Medical Science; vol. 100: pp. 109-127
Cohen and Kaube, Current Opinion in Neurology, 2004 vo. 17: pp295-299.

If you 'Google' Exploding Head Syndrome, you will find there is a small piece from the Mayo Clinic.

Don't overanalyze it, but if you talk to your doctor, you may show him the references I gave you above so he doesn't think you're crazy.

FROM: GC
DATE: Monday May 29, 2006 -- 1:14:36 pm

Thanks for the entries - it's nice to know that it's not a stroke, brain seizure, tumour etc etc. It happened last night and I was quite worried about having to go to sleep tonight until I read this site.

FROM: Mim
DATE: Wednesday May 31, 2006 -- 9:02:39 am

Just woke up to a loud bang, then realised it was all in my head lol. So I checked out "crash bang inside head" in google and this page came up.

Wow, now I've got Exploding Head Syndrome. Gotta love it.

(For the researchers - age 56, female, no prescription drugs, rarely drink alcohol, don't smoke, do suffer migraine, was just going off to sleep lying on my back. Seems to me there aren't any common factors other than we're human, and whose to say the animals don't suffer it from time to time hehehe.)

Thanks for this info everyone.

FROM: Anthony
DATE: Friday June 2, 2006 -- 7:48:42 pm

I've had this before, like others it sounded like a gun shoot or something, freaked me out to no end because i live in the country, sometimes I figured it was just hunters or someone shooting at a stray dog. But it'ld happen only when I start to fall asleep.

I've also experneced the "Falling" symtome since I was pretty little, 8, 9, 10. Specially when I'ld have a migraine and lay down in the nurses office at school, I was sure I'ld fall right off the couch thingy they had. Pretty freaky stuff, when I was small I was sure I was feeling the rotation of the Earth :P or something. And I'ld have "half-dreams", guess could call it day-dreaming, of floating off out of control into space.

I just now did a search on Google to find out, first place that hit was the "New England Journal Of Medican" but you have to be a registered member to read anything on there *Sighs* But then I found this place and I'm glad more then just me have had these experinces and it's nothing to major. But the other people are right, doctors should take it more seriously. I tried talking to my doctor about it and she just laughed it off like I was making it all up.

My info is, 27 year old male, never drank, little drug use but been off that stuff for years, and only some migraine medicans but I rarely take it.

FROM: Steve
DATE: Saturday June 3, 2006 -- 3:56:39 am

I have experienced this for about a year. When it happened more than a couple of times, I went to my doctor. Like Anthony, above, my Doc had no idea what I was talking about and said he had never heard of the symptoms before. He suggested that it was probably a dream I had had. So much for my doctor. :(

I now have a name for it - EHS - thanks to finding this thread, and it seems to be harmless, if a somewhat disturbing condition. I also suffer from acephalgic migraine or 'silent' migraine - zig-zag lines appearing in the left-hand visual area, but no headache, perhaps there is a link.

I am male, 50, a moderate drinker and I smoke.

That said, 'Exploding Head Syndrome' is a pretty funny, if reasonably acurate description. :P

Just thought I would share. :)

FROM: Pai
DATE: Tuesday June 6, 2006 -- 9:34:39 am

That's funny that there is a steady stream of people on here with this problem.

I'm 25 I have serious insomnia, EHS (sounds like someone puts a big metal gong beside my head and whaps it (though less frequently lately), sleep paralysis (got it all the time when I was a kid though it hasn't happened in years) and apparently now either Propriospinal Myoclonus or sleep-starts since I occationally get this wierd shaking about 1.5 hours into sleep which gets worse if I try and move, usually after aforesaid gong noise)

I drink a lot of coffee mainly because I have serious insomnia and maintain the worst sleep schedule ever. Ecstasy/LSD probably ain't helping either, but oh well. (lol, actually suprisingly the odd time I do Ecstasy the EHS & PSM go away for like a whole week, maybe something to do with it kicking out a massive release of serotonin?)

Anyway, it's nice to know there are other people around with similar problems which have peristed for years, I was seriously starting to wonder if I was gonna drop dead one night.

FROM: Pai
DATE: Tuesday June 6, 2006 -- 9:34:56 am

That's funny that there is a steady stream of people on here with this problem.

I'm 25 I have serious insomnia, EHS (sounds like someone puts a big metal gong beside my head and whaps it (though less frequently lately), sleep paralysis (got it all the time when I was a kid though it hasn't happened in years) and apparently now either Propriospinal Myoclonus or sleep-starts since I occationally get this wierd shaking about 1.5 hours into sleep which gets worse if I try and move, usually after aforesaid gong noise)

I drink a lot of coffee mainly because I have serious insomnia and maintain the worst sleep schedule ever. Ecstasy/LSD probably ain't helping either, but oh well. (lol, actually suprisingly the odd time I do Ecstasy the EHS & PSM go away for like a whole week, maybe something to do with it kicking out a massive release of serotonin?)

Anyway, it's nice to know there are other people around with similar problems which have peristed for years, I was seriously starting to wonder if I was gonna drop dead one night.

FROM: Paims
DATE: Tuesday June 6, 2006 -- 9:36:05 am

That's funny that there is a steady stream of people on here with this problem.

I'm 25 I have serious insomnia, EHS (sounds like someone puts a big metal gong beside my head and whaps it (though less frequently lately), sleep paralysis (got it all the time when I was a kid though it hasn't happened in years) and apparently now either Propriospinal Myoclonus or sleep-starts since I occationally get this wierd shaking about 1.5 hours into sleep which gets worse if I try and move, usually after aforesaid gong noise)

I drink a lot of coffee mainly because I have serious insomnia and maintain the worst sleep schedule ever. Ecstasy/LSD probably ain't helping either, but oh well. (lol, actually suprisingly the odd time I do Ecstasy the EHS & PSM go away for like a whole week, maybe something to do with it kicking out a massive release of serotonin?)

Anyway, it's nice to know there are other people around with similar problems which have peristed for years, I was seriously starting to wonder if I was gonna drop dead one night.

FROM: Carrie
DATE: Wednesday June 7, 2006 -- 6:22:41 pm

Thank goodness for Google. In the past I've had the sensation that I'm falling and in the last few years I've heard in my head what sounds like thunder. But I had never worried about it, but then in the last year the thunder started to get louder and the two months ago "bang". I was having a hard time going to sleep and was just dozing off when it sounded like a cannon going off in my head then a tingling sensation. Since then i have had the electric jolt feeling with the loud sound. Very Frightening! I went to the doctor the other day because i started to worry that something was wrong and he said in the 20 years he has been a doctor he has never heard of anything like this. Then he went on to ask if I heard voices and were they telling me to do anything. I said no and so throughout the exam he would ask again if i heard voices. So i came home and did the search and i feel so much better. I will take info to him on EHS to show him that i'm not crazy and that others hear the explosion sound also.
Female,28, smoker, no meds., no alcohol

FROM: Alex
DATE: Sunday June 11, 2006 -- 6:28:11 pm

Last night I had the most bizarre, perhaps the most frightening experience in my life. Ive woken up a few times hearing loud explosions and occassionly I witness bright flashes which cause me to awake.
Last night I was having a typical bad nights sleep. It was about 3 am when I awoke, but I wasnt quite sure if I had previously been asleep or awake, I guess I was only half conscious. I was dreaming or thinking about writing a piece of orchestral music in my head, a nice peaceful bit of music, when all of a sudden I heard the most horrendous sound in my head. It was basically an orchestra playing the scariest, loudest note (or collection of out of tune notes) that I have ever heard, and it caused me to wake with a jolt all of a sudden. As I awoke however, the noise did not go away and I could hear some of the instruments slurring between notes It really sounded as if the noise was coming from outside in the street, as if it was echoing throughout the neighbourhood. After about 3 seconds, the noise suddenly started to fade away, (like the sound of a note ringing in a huge stadium). The way it faded away was really unnatural and strange, I can't really describe it very well.
I was so freaked out, I seriously thought that it was the end of the world or something, and I couldn't work out if the noise had really been in my head.
I heard someone else moving in my house, and called out. No-one else had heard anything, infact they were all asleep. Because of this I know the sound was in my head.
This has never ever happened to me before, and i hope it never happens again; if I had been older it could have given me a heart attack!
Has anyone else ever been awoken by any other noises, other than explosions or electrical noises? Am I completely insane? lol!
I think the fact that I was dreaming about music influenced what I heard when I was rudely awakened by this 'phantom orchestra', and the fact that I write a lot of music certainly didn't help.

FROM: Alex
DATE: Sunday June 11, 2006 -- 6:33:10 pm

I think it would be important to add, that I also suffer from back and neck pains. I've been diagnosed with a twisted spine, and my neck aches all the time. Does this have something to do with it? Is this perhaps a form of sleep paralysis? Or is it alien abduction? Ok i think we can probably discount the aliens, but I'd like to know what really causes this.

FROM: Bob
DATE: Monday June 12, 2006 -- 2:33:38 pm

Alex,
My noise is like the opening sound of 'I feel fine' by the beatles. (which is ironic)
It is frighteningly loud, lasts for perhaps one second and is sometimes accompanied by flashes of light.
It does happen when I am half conscious, half asleep. I think it happens to me when i am very tired and stressed.
My neurologist said it was nothing to be worried about and that its cause was not known.
All the best Bob

FROM: shanti
DATE: Thursday June 15, 2006 -- 7:25:57 am

Could these be kudalini awakingings? See:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini#External_links

http://www.spiritualcompetency.com/blackboard/lessons/types/kundalinitype.htm


?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

FROM: shanti
DATE: Thursday June 15, 2006 -- 7:42:49 am

Since wearing rudraksha mala I have had these experiences..........electrical sounds, muscle spasms...... especially at night when dropping off to sleep....

give the following a read:

www.skaggs-island.org/humanistic/sannella/kundalini.html

FROM: Colleen
DATE: Thursday June 15, 2006 -- 7:28:38 pm

I started this condition whilst on holiday and the first episode convinced me I was dying and informed my bewildered husband that I was dying.
Some years passed before it happened again, but this time it began with a roaring in my left ear followed by the "bang" and an inability to lift my head or come out of it except by sheer will. Once I could force my head to lift it was ok. I felt if I didn't lift my head I would die. Racing heart etc.
Stress and overwork were most likely a factor in the latter episodes and may have been in the first. Can't remember.
Found an article in a magazine which explained it was "exploding head".
Although I have been stressed since then, I appear to have grown out of it.
Laying on my back or on my left side appear to be the times it occured. Still get the beginning symptoms of the roar beginning, but it wakes me before the "big bang noise" and I move to my right side or sit up for a minute.
Have been a migraine sufferer in the past, but have grown out of that too.
Age has some benefits..................

FROM: bumbaleena
DATE: Saturday June 17, 2006 -- 1:13:36 pm

i have the bang and the green laser effect occasionally and am glad i'm not alone!!!! it doesn't seem to have done any of us any harm....or has it???? well we're all in the same boat if it has!!

FROM: Veronica
DATE: Saturday June 17, 2006 -- 2:40:10 pm

How I wish we'd had Internet when I was younger! I am 65 years of age and have just discovered from this website that I have had EHS since childhood. I gathered the courage to mention it to a doctor when I was in my teens and he promptly told me I was mentally ill! I am a very happy outgoing person, though people might consider me "nervy" or "jumpy" as I have a lot of energy. I also have very fast reflexes. What a relief to read through all the letters and see that some of my more weird stuff, other people have had too. I get migraine auras, but no headaches, could write books about my dreams but can't "control" my lucid dreams anymore though (too much effort and I am now getting older!). Tried to take up Yoga in my 30's but when the Instructor had us meditate I nearly went into - and felt part of - the floor, with only my face showing above it! Very scary stuff, have never meditated since. I get EHS falling asleep on my back. Also from time to time get sleep paralysis, can't breathe until I get my body to wake up. Get "shadow-men" on my peripheral vision. Sometimes get a feeling when falling asleep that my body is entirely made of wood. When sick get very, very high fevers - that's usually when I see my environment either growing very large, or getting very small. Reading through all the explanations I liked the one in which the lady said we are, after all, only animals and we are forever on the "alert" to our environment and possible danger. I think when EHS happens(and it usually does when we are overtired - facial tics are a sure sign of that -and stressed) it is a battle going on between our conscious mind and our subsconsious. We are dead tired but our brains are still working overtime and telling our body not to fall asleep just yet. When we finally nod off we are wakened up by giving us a start. Finally, I also have tinnitus and get that whoosing sound in my ears. Our bodies are composed of electric synapses -all firing off in different directions so it's no wonder we get feelings of "electric" shocks. You've no idea how this website has finally set my mind at rest. I just hope doctors are reading all of this too. Well, that's enough from me! THANK YOU.

FROM: metoo
DATE: Monday June 19, 2006 -- 10:57:30 am

I have just been to see a neurologist about the electrical buzz I get in my head but he had no idea what I was talking about.

The buzz feels like one neuron after another firing in a pattern across my head, from ear to ear. It is very unpleasant. It happens when I am asleep and I wake up very hot - whether overheating in bed has caused it, or whether it causes the overheating I don't know.

It started after I had had reactive depression 12 years ago, but I was never on medication preferring talking therapy, which worked for me. I recovered after around 8 months and have not had depression since.I do have migraines occasionally. I have never taken drugs, do not smoke, and am healthy. I do have problems with my spine. I have had some spiritual experiences - all good.

It's a relief to know others experience this and are apparently well.

FROM:
DATE: Wednesday June 21, 2006 -- 12:14:43 am

It seems there are two types of expierences people are having. Some hear a loud gunshot or explosion and some feel an electrical buzz. Are these two both ehs?

FROM: Sherry
DATE: Tuesday June 27, 2006 -- 12:36:19 am

I first started having this experience in my mid-20's, and the noises were quite loud. I thought I was losing my mind. I'm happy to know that there is a name for this phenomenon. I didn't even tell anyone until I was 36. Let's face it, when you bring it up, people tend to think you are a little crazy. I finally told my therapist, who had never heard of anything like it, and we treated the symptoms as stress and fatigue. Now, the episodes are not as strong, but unless I take medication to sleep, they happen every night. The noises that I hear are doorbells, knocking on a door or the wall, a voice shouting, "Hey! You!" I don't get any electric shocks or tingling, and I don't recall having seen any light. The events always happen when I am just falling asleep, and they wake me up 5 or more times each night. I take Ambien or my life is a mess from lack of sleep. I, too, have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and experience anxiety attacks and panic attacks, though these have diminished over time to only one or two a year. I am now 43, so 20 years is a long time to have trouble sleeping. I had surgery under anesthesia four times before I was 20, I have had experiences with strange shadow people in my sleep, I am very aware of paranormal experiences, I am definitely an insomniac, and I am NOT crazy--a bit neurotic perhaps--but that is for a different post!;-)

Insomnia

Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years
and I think,
he must be my idol.

Night. The house hums silencing darkness.
Elusive sleep. Shadows dance
across the ceiling,
macabre actors in elegant costume.
Demon sheep.

Dawn. Street lights hold the glow of their night's work.
Early sky. Turquoise trips
over window sills,
floodlights on the stage.
Curtain falls.

FROM: Tinnadmin
DATE: Wednesday June 28, 2006 -- 4:58:06 am

Alex, you asked whether EHS has something to do with neck problems. I believe it does. My neck is stiff and creaky, probably from muscle tension, maybe a bit of cervical arthritis. An Internet friend of mine got EHS after surgery on his neck. The doctor explained his as resulting from a sudden movement of spinal fluid.

Maybe something in the neck like scar tissue or an inflamed muscle causes the symptoms by irritating a nerve that goes into the head.

FROM: John
DATE: Wednesday June 28, 2006 -- 7:20:35 pm

Think its to do with sleep apoea; the bodies way of waking you up when you stop breathing or to synchronize breathing.
A flash of light can be seen whether asleep or awake in a dark room when there's a sudden loud noise, whether internal or external.

Sleep well.

FROM: Sarah
DATE: Friday June 30, 2006 -- 9:21:05 pm

My kids laughed at me when I told them I just discovered I had exploding head syndrome. I get the loud bangs like thunder and the buzzing noises too sometimes. I have scoliosis in my neck and suffer neck and shoulder pain quite often. I told my brother, who is a doctor, about the buzzing noises in my brain sometimes--he suggested it was a "shadow migrane." I'm glad to know I'm not alone, but still not convinced that all of us EHSer's aren't a bit weirdly wired.

FROM: shain dash
DATE: Saturday July 1, 2006 -- 10:10:03 am

after a severe vertigue attact about 3 years ago i start having headaches on righ side of my head
htey are about 20-30 secound few time some days
specialiest diagnoised this as a exploding head syndrom, and priscribe Endop for my pain
after three years i am still suffering and recently i realised that before my pms also the pain comes for few days
i also get a sharp pain in my right ear.
are these all related.?
have you heard of similar casess?
is EHS is only refer to hearing loud noise?
i have never heard of any loud noise just a pain which exteremly painful and cant compare it with any thing
i get tears in right eye from severaty and forget breathing and wish to die

FROM: Eric F
DATE: Monday July 3, 2006 -- 12:05:57 pm

Oh lord, when will it end? First I was finally diagnosed with Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia and now this! At least I find out it is relatively benign. I was starting to think I had a tumor or something.

Nice to know I'm not dieing.

I've been having this more and more frequently over the past year. I suspect it has something to do with all the meds I take for ATN, but I'm taking Nerontin, Depakote, so it's not seizures.

In my case it usually happens early in the morning when I'm drifting in and out of sleep. It feels like pressure building up inside my head, then, "WHAM!!!" like someone hits me over the head with a brick!!!

I think it's time for a sleep study. Back to my neurologist...

FROM: matt
DATE: Sunday July 9, 2006 -- 6:54:57 pm

Whoa yes! this happend to me for the first time lastnight as i dosed off, ive never been so scared in my life,
had i taken too many drugs in the last month? drank to much in the weekend? what the hell was going on, it felt like someone had put a bomb on me and set it off yet i woke up with all my limbs, a loud sound in my right ear kept going for a minute or so and i felt like i was going to die,

FROM: Hope
DATE: Tuesday July 11, 2006 -- 11:01:20 am

So wonderful to read all these posts. I experienced my first instance of EHS two nights ago after having been asleep for just ten minutes. Incredibly bizarre! An enormous concussive sound & attendant light show in my head that lasted a split second. Jolted awake, I could clearly tell the sound was not heard externally as the dogs were still sleeping peacefully at the foot of the bed. The experience was not in any way akin to a dream.

I had worked hard physically all day and was very tired and relaxed whern I went to sleep. Don't know why it occured now and never before. Am not anxious for it to happen again! I'm 52, female.

FROM: trent
DATE: Thursday July 13, 2006 -- 12:29:11 pm

my friend had this and last week his head actually exploded

FROM: trent
DATE: Thursday July 13, 2006 -- 12:30:49 pm

in noise (sorry)

FROM: trent
DATE: Thursday July 13, 2006 -- 12:35:41 pm

the treatment is Clomipramine

FROM: Me
DATE: Thursday July 13, 2006 -- 2:19:18 pm

I'm falling asleep and then, suddenly, it feels like i've been hit over the head with something hard, and a very loud BANG accompanies it. I jolt awake. I start falling asleep again, and it happens again, BANG!! This repeats about four or five time before I give up tyring to fall asleep. I get up for a while and then go back to bed.

I go through phases of it that last about 4 days. I am lying on by back each time it happens.

Incidentally, or not, I get easily stressed, and I tend to get muscle tension in my head, neck and upper back, and I have trouble sleeping in general.

FROM: Me
DATE: Thursday July 13, 2006 -- 2:57:01 pm

There is a Wikipedia entry for Exploding Head Syndrome:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome

- definately what most of us seem to have

FROM: Sunny
DATE: Thursday July 13, 2006 -- 4:17:54 pm

Pleased to find that there are others hearing and seeing things when their eyes are closed :)

Bells:
For the last several years I've been experiencing the sound of bells while I'm sleeping. I would hear what I believed to be the doorbell. It would occur only in the morning hours, oftentimes on a weekend when I had planned to sleep in :( I would go to the door or peek through the curtains to find no one there. It surprised me that whoever had rung the bell could depart so quickly. Oftentimes I would wake my daughter, much to her disappointment, to ask if she had heard the doorbell and to help me peer out the windows.

I've moved in the last year or so to a house without a doorbell. The bells I hear now are buzzers, or a simple brief ringing or ding of any variety of bells. This occurs after my clock alarm has rung and I am mid-point in my usual process of hitting the snooze.

Voices:
Randomly, over the last several years in the morning hours I would hear a man calling my name. It would continue until I was awake and seemed to be coming from inside my head. He does have a lovely voice :)

The Zaps:
I call them the zaps. They occur only at night, shortly after I've gone to bed. Any small sound seems to trigger them. As an example, something will creak in the room and there is an immediate response to the sound of what feels like an electrical zap in my head. It doesn't hurt, it's just a bit scary.

Lights:
I sometimes see arcs of bright light when my eyes are closed. This has occurred around the time when I've had a migraine.

The doctor:
I've just started seeing a neurologist about a degenerative disc problem I have in my neck so I asked him about the zaps. He said that he thought they were the result of myoclonus, possibly related to stress. After reading about myoclonus, I don't think that explains the zaps.

Are the answers medical?
My daughter enjoys Sylvia Browne. Sylvia talks about spiritual guides and angels that we each have to help guide us during our earthly journey. I'd like to believe that someone God-sent or a loved one who has passed, cares enough about me make sure that I wake up and am not late to work :)

FROM: Sunny
DATE: Thursday July 13, 2006 -- 4:52:01 pm

Went back and was reading some more comments on this page so am adding a follow up.

Doc Feb 22, 2006: Don't take anti-depressants

Surendipity Jan 2, 2006: 1) Yes, I have seen shadowmen. About 10 years ago I would awaken at night to see figures similar to those in the movie Ghosts that are in the scene when the bad guy dies. 2) yes, had heart surgery when I was 3, I was also completely frozen for the surgery. 3) open to paranormal and spiritual beliefs. I have had some remarkable occurrences in my life 4) not noted any specific time of the month when these things occur 5) have not had much insomnia for a few years

Not sure who asked this: yes, have fibromyalgia, have had it since before anyone was diagnosing it - been struggling with it for years.

FROM: Cheryl
DATE: Tuesday July 18, 2006 -- 5:17:36 am

I am 55 years old and have been suffering from EHS for about 25 years or so. It had slowly progressed from the occasional 'zap' now and then, to every night. Accompanying this I become paralysed and very afraid (perhaps of the 'shadowmen' I sometimes see - I had never heard these figures referred to as 'shadowmen' until I read this forum - it is an extremely apt expression). The zap starts as a fairly soft buzzing noise travelling from one ear to the other (or so it seems), to becoming louder and louder, under I think my eardrums and head will explode. I find it very distressing and almost painful. I also seem to hallucinate when this is happening, i.e.'shadowmen', and other weird things (sometimes) which seem very real and I am terrified. Also, I cannot move (sleep paralysis) until I make some sort of noise so my husband can shake, or even just touch me, to fully awaken me. Then I have to get out of bed for a few minutes, and when I go back to bed, can sleep quite well. I also suffer from tinnitus, which is not getting any worse and I can cope with it at the moment.

Similar to 'Sunny's' comment, any small sound will prompt an immediate response and this small noise will sound like a loud bang and wake me up. I didn't realise this could be part of the EHS until I read this comment, and others, and I can fully relate to it, except it does not cause a 'zap' in my case. It just wakes me up with a jolt, like an electric shock I guess.

I have also found that when I get very tired and can't, or don't, give in to sleep, I suffer a major attack of EHS. So guess what, as soon as I get tired these days, I have a snooze - even if it's only for half an hour or so. At night I generally go to bed quite early and can sleep somewhere between 8 to 12 hours.

I believe this condition is familial - my paternal grandmother had it, as does my father, although it doesn't worry him and he says he enjoys the sensation. I imagine his attacks are not as frequent or bad as mine.

About ten years ago, before I had treatment and when it was at its worse, I was referred to a neurologist, who prescribed Tofranil, 75 mg, about one hour before going to bed. This has since been changed to Prothiaden (Dothep), same dosage, which works well. I will have to take this medication (or similar) for the rest of my life. Even so, I still occasionally have a minor attack.

FROM: Cheryl
DATE: Tuesday July 18, 2006 -- 5:41:44 am

PS to my previous comments.

I also have extremely lucid and colourful dreams - often complete stories with a beginning, middle and end (like a book). I can usually remember my dreams. Sometimes I have nightmares, but not too often.

Another point - when I first saw the neurologist he didn't know what was wrong with me, so he had to do some research and discovered what the problem was. My G.P. had told me, years ago, that the neurons in my brain weren't 'firing' correctly at the moment I was about to fall asleep. I guess this could explain the sensation in an easy-to-understand manner. He also explained that it wasn't really a 'noise' as such, and that my head would not blow up or my eardrums blow out.

I can forego my tablet for one night (if I am out late and perhaps having an alcoholic drink or two), but the next day I am usually lethargic and have an awful thick head - like it weighs tons! And no, it's not a hang-over - I know what they are like!

Those who don't understand EHS can make fun of us, but we all know how upsetting it can be.

FROM: Rich
DATE: Tuesday July 18, 2006 -- 9:30:01 am

I don't know if this is the same thing but it sounds pretty similar:

Having 'experimented' with ecstacy quite a lot i find that, a day or two after taking them, when falling asleep i will experience one of these "explosions". For me this is more of an electrical shock than anything. I wake with a start and my head is 'zinging' (well how else to describe it). It pulses several times and i feel a tingly sensation, not necessarily painful but very disturbing. Sometimes it is very severe and it takes a few seconds to clear leaving me almost terrified, other times it's a brief tingle.

It's only when i'm alseep or falling asleep and never in the day time. It seems to particularly relate to when i have smoked weed that evening (i still had to have had ecstacy over the last couple of days though). I can even feel when one is coming on. Almost like a disjointed drifting sensation. Like i'm falling asleep but not in the right way - as though my brain is going to sleep but forgetting to switch off my conciousness. I have experienced this in my dreams as well. I have had dreams where i am paralysed in bed and unable to move or speak, it feels like i am having one long 'gentle' shock rather than a short sharp one.

This is all purely self inflicted and i'm certainly not looking for sympathy. In a sick way it is kind of interesting, although for me the effects do go away after time.

I never expected there was a real condition with similarities, maybe there is a connection? I have often thought that MDMA blurs the boundaries between dream state and the real world - although that's purely my own non-medical opinion.

MDMA (as i understand it) causes the depletion of dopamine and serotonin, perhaps there are reduced levels in your own brains causing this?

Either way it's just for information, hopefully you can get something useful out of it!

FROM: kt
DATE: Friday July 21, 2006 -- 10:39:44 am

i've just realised i have this and so has my sister.
i mainly get a ringing like an alarm and sometime my ear hurts so much i want to cry. not nice but i've been woken up by my own voice inside my head and other voices calling me (thanks sunny glad i'm not the only one with voices).
cant wait to tell anyone who was slagging me that its got a name.

FROM: Crystal
DATE: Friday July 21, 2006 -- 11:18:25 am

i am 13, and just now found out i have exploding head syndrome. it wuz on the list of 13 craziest mental illnesses. they said that it can be caused by stress, and now i realize everytime it has happened, it wuz before a big test @ school. it sux because i have a hard time getting 2 sleep already, but now that i wake myself up with exploding head syndrome, it's even harder. but it's nice 2 know that there are other people out there who have this 2 and not just me.

FROM: Tracy
DATE: Saturday July 22, 2006 -- 11:02:59 pm

I am so glad I found this. I have epilepsy that was diagnosed a year ago and I have the big bang sound frequently. I know it is not a dream because it is so explosive sounding and real sounding. I have made my poor husband get up and look for things like someone throwing rocks at the window and etc. I feel nervous after I have this experience. So glad to know it was not "all in my head"!

FROM: nikki
DATE: Saturday July 22, 2006 -- 11:25:47 pm

now i feel crazy...i always know the sound was in my head and thought nothing but an annoyonce of it ...... but its reall and this happens to me almost all the time......mostly when im not in my bed.....could that have something to do with it...sleeping where your not used to sleeping.....awesome topic

FROM: elise
DATE: Monday July 24, 2006 -- 11:37:50 pm

Wow, so I am not the only one. I have had EHS symptoms for three years. I did not know it had a name, though.. I was diagnosed with Meniere's disease and some say it is part of the disease, located in the middle ear. Nerve damage or neurologic effects from the balance and auditory center damage. The ear is related to head noises and is part of tinnitis. I get a loud "shotgun" sound along with a "falling through space" feeling along with lights at times. It happens when I lay down at night because the fluid in the ear moves around causing strange sounds and sensations. When you have nerve damage or an imbalance in fluid (caused by bad diet, stress or anything that increases inflammation), it can cause auditory hallucinations. Also my eyes seem to move and jerk, like nystagmus... It happens most when I am stressed or tired or eat junk or too much salt which causes build up of fluid.. I have to stay on a low salt, very healthy diet. I am not so afraid of the noises and sensations any more except when they wake me up, my heart is pounding and I feel nauseated with vertigo sometimes.. Take care all...... at least we do not have a brain tumor..
Elise

FROM: Jools
DATE: Tuesday July 25, 2006 -- 5:16:39 am

This is amazing, for years I didn't put much thought into my "strange episodes" but I had such a frightening one last night I had to look on the net to find out if I should see a doctor!
I've had the massive electrical cracking noise and white flash since mid teens.
Usually when very tired, but always when i'm awake and just starting to sleep. Not intentionally trying to sleep, but just sort off nodding off while doing something.
Last night though I had one in the middle of the night that woke me up.
I was very different to what i'm used to. It was like an explosion that went on for 3 seconds or so and I felt like I was shaking from the blast. (I dont think I did shake as my girl friend is a light sleeper and didn't notice anything)
I've never really been worried about them because it seemed kind of logical to me. Plus i'm sure in the book Bravo Two Zero about british SAS in Iraq, one of them discribes having the same electrical crack and light episodes while on the run.

My history if it helps...

Im a 29yo male
Have had general anesthetic when i was around 5
Suffer from tinnitus - though i don't even really hear it, just a constant high pitched white noise that i can hear when i think about it. Also loud noises distort, like an over driven amplifier noise.
Suffered from depression and took anti-depressents, but had EHS before that
I'm not spiritual
Have bad sleep patterns, wake up once or twice a night, but not what i'd call an insomniac.
I have a bad neck, it creeks and clicks like crazy. Infact it was very sore the night i had my big explosion.
I also get pins and needles in my left hand (just select fingers) and sometimes the left side of my face. I had a nerve conduction study done and they said everything was fine.

FROM: kevin
DATE: Tuesday July 25, 2006 -- 9:07:20 am

Holy Crap I cant believe there are others like me! I just had an "episode" about 15 minutes ago and woke up tp research it on the net and found this site.Ive had "it" for years but doctors told me bthere was nothing biologically or physically wrong.They told me that it was likely anxiety.When it first happened I thought I was having seizures or going to choke in my sleep.After a few years I noticed I wasnt dying lol.But its scary as hell.

Its always when Im on the verge of falling asleep.Ill get this "zap" feeling in my head that startles me awake.Its usually accompanied by a falling feeling or a going fast feeling.Sometimes right before it happens my thoughts go a million miles per minute and then it feels like my brains "locks" or stops.The really bad episodes are when I get this tickle or choking feeling at the moment it happens. It feels like Im drowning for a split second.

Ive noticed rubbing my neck or having a glass of wine helps.

FROM: Gary Kay
DATE: Friday July 28, 2006 -- 1:18:41 am

I'm 61 years old and it's been a while since I've had an attack, but last night I had a huge one. It was totally different in that I was lying (sleeping) on my side. (In the past...most of the EHS experiences have occured while sleeping on my back). Last night was very, very big...a true explosion in my head...very scary.

From visiting this site it is very apparent that many of us experience EHS. Such being the case, why is that there are no formal studies/investigations of this phenomena ???? As I posted a couple of years back....I had a ct scan and a brain scan and neither my doctor or the neurologist/specialist had any clue as to what was going on....eventually I had to self-diagnose, and that was only possible because of internet investigation.

There should be some answers here somewhere. Is anybody aware of any ongoin studies ????

FROM: Gary Kay
DATE: Friday July 28, 2006 -- 5:23:56 pm

After perusing the various postings, it is obvious that there are certain commonalities to many of our experiences.

One point that keeps being reiterated is that (our) doctors/specialists know little or nothing about EHS. You would think that someone would do a study.

What really pisses me off is that after I got dismissed by the neurologist (he reviewed my ct scan and brain scan, and interviewed me), he did nothing to follow up. It was after un-productive visits with my own doctor and the neurologist, that I decided to do my own research. When I found an article describing EHS from the Mayo Clinic, I mailed it to the neurologist and asked for comment/opinion/feedback....he never even bothered to respond.

My info:

Age: 61
Health: very good, exercise regularly, non-smoker, good diet, regular alcohol user (wine), no drugs/medication.
Sleep habits: terrible sleeper...wake up 10-20 times per night, need 9-10 hours sleep per night.
EHS: started occurring in my mid 50's. It happens every 3-4 weeks, with the intenisty varying. There have been 4 or 5 experiences that were absolutely terrifying because of the intensity and loudness of the bang/zap.
In 1 instance I believe that the "experience" may have been integrated with a horrible dream that ended with the loudest intense bang that I thought might have been a nuclear bomb blast. I woke up scared, hot, and sweating. Most experiences are far less severe...some are limited to a sort of metallic clanging sound. Almost always happens when I'm sleeping on my back.

I would like to learn more about EHS.

FROM: stefan
DATE: Tuesday August 1, 2006 -- 2:25:48 am

I'm not sure if its EHS but I occasionally get an 'electrical zap' going off in my head as I am drifting off to sleep, not when I am alseep. I may go years without them but when they come I may have 3 such 'events within the space of 10 minutes while going to sleep.

Is there a good link around about this ? the Wikipedia EHS link is pretty small.

FROM: Tom
DATE: Friday August 4, 2006 -- 12:17:47 pm

I also get EHS. Big bang, or cattle prod electric shock feeling in my head, just as drifting off to sleep. Never when awake and never mid-sleep. It also can feel like a thud, or a buzz which kind of isn't as bad if I clench my eyes as it happens.
I don't do drugs or smoke or drink caffeine or drink alcohol much.
Does seem to be worse if I'm dehydrated, or stressed or working too hard. I also have a sore neck at the moment (from tennis) and think its made it worse.
I've had it for 4 years, on average once a week, but not that regular. It can go away for a long time then come back.

I've also had a cat scan because of this, and it was clear. I also had a blood test which came up in the normal band.

I hope it one day can go from being a syndrome, to something with a known cause and known fixes.

Also:
I don't see shadowmen, I don't have spiritual experiences, I don't have insomnia, but I do get headaches sometimes.

FROM: Linda
DATE: Friday August 4, 2006 -- 1:46:26 pm

Ok, these bangs have finally got my attention after last night. I had a really loud metal sounding bang that woke me up....(I thought I was asleep, but maybe I had just fallen to sleep). Anyway, I have a pretty bad neck problem and had been getting injections to treat it; so maybe that is causing my "big bangs". At least I know I'm not alone, because I was beginning to think I had lost my marbles. I've experienced this (EHS) many times before, but usually when I am just falling to sleep, or within a few hours. Hope this goes away, but I guess it time will tell. So glad to have come across this site.

FROM: Tony
DATE: Monday August 7, 2006 -- 1:55:14 pm

Well, I don't know what to make of all this. I had something like this happen to me maybe a year, year and a half ago.

I was lying in my bed on my back just at the point where I was still conscious but ready to drift off to sleep when I began to feel my body collapsing into itself. That seemed like it lasted five to ten seconds. That collapsing ended with a giant BOOM upon which I awoke completely, sat up, and was breathing hard and a little sweaty.

I wasn't feeling well at the time. I was going from doctor to doctor to find out what was wrong with me. I ended up with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism and I am now on medication. I wasn't then. I had 2 more episodes after the first one but not quite as intense.

Now, I get an electrical zapping in my head sometimes. It feels like it travels from inside my head from ear to ear. The funny thing is I was getting what I describe as an electrical arcing at different parts of my body for awhile. I could even hear them, especially one I got in my abdomen area. It made a sound that sounded like an arc welder if you know what that sounds like. That all started after I began taking my prescription for my hypothyroidism. I was getting bumped up in dose about every 8 weeks after bloodwork. I was on levothyroxine. After not feeling much better I finally went to an endo and described what I was feeling and he told me that some people have adverse reactions to the fillers and dyes in pills. He changed my prescription to Synthroid 50 mcg, the pure ones with no dyes but they do have fillers.

The arcing seemed to go away. I am now on Armour Thryoid, the dissected one obtained from pig's thyroid. However, one of the hormones that I am checked for, T4, was still low at my last visit so the Dr. and I decided to add a small 25 mcg dose of the Synthroid back in with the Armour. I went to get it filled, but the pharmacise filled the prescription with levothyroxine, the generic form of Synthroid. I accepted it after finding out that it is the white version (no dyes). It's cheaper, too.

Well, after months of not having those electrical zaps, I just got one again in my head. Coincidence? Maybe. I'm going to get another prescription for only Synthroid and start that. There are a lot of fillers used in pills that can cause reactions in some people. Some people are fine. Some are not.

Another problem is MSG. It's in a lot of food and isn't clearly labeled as such. Foods with gelatin or autolyzed yeast extract have MSG in them. Or foods with whey. MSG causes a lot of propblems for a lot of people. It's best to know what you're eating. Check the labels and do some homework.

I haven't slept in my bed since those episodes. It scared me to death. My theory is that certain food ingrediants (and pill fillers) are not cleared from the body completely and build up over time. I think they can "short circuit" the neuro pathways and bridge the gaps where the synapses (spelling) occur. I don't know. I am not a doctor. Just a theory.

I hope everyone here gets relief from this terrible affliction.

FROM: John
DATE: Monday August 7, 2006 -- 3:53:05 pm

I am not alone, what a relief. Loud electrical metallic ping in my head just occured as I was falling asleep for an afternoon nap. Yes, it does jolt you awake.

I first experienced a swishing sensation in my head when I was about 21. To say the least I was freaked out, when to doctor he thought I was nuts, but he ordered a cat-scan and everthing was all right. That seemed to relieve me and the symptoms disappeared.

Now, 17 years later, for the last 2 months, I experience a pinging sensation, sometimes on consecutive nights or it may disappear for a while. It always happens when in a semi-concsious state just prior to falling asllep. For me it may be related to caffeine, I will lower my intake and see if the occurences decrease.

Are any of you religious, is god sending us messages?

FROM: Doc
DATE: Wednesday August 9, 2006 -- 1:59:30 am

A little bit more, concerning my 22nd feb input.
Perhaps the following url might help.

http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/pinealstory3.htm

FROM: peter
DATE: Saturday August 12, 2006 -- 8:11:45 am

1st time it happened to me i nearly jumped out of bed. "sounded" real but not an external nosie, hmmm interesting. as othres have said, i thought it was only me.. ps started years ago and i still not got brain tumout so that is good, cheers.

FROM: Amy
DATE: Saturday August 12, 2006 -- 8:28:37 am

Every now and then i get this feeling in my head and it feels like an electric zap or something in my head- it happens randomly in random places if anyone knows what this is i would really appreciate it if u emailed me and informed me of what is happening inside my head...

FROM: Traven
DATE: Sunday August 20, 2006 -- 6:49:07 pm

So I'm reading this book last night and I come across the word "myoclonic". Never having encountered the word before, I enter it into Google, get a bunch of hits, and click on the wikipedia link. Turns out it describes, among other things, a sort of muscle spasm that affects people when they're trying to sleep.

Ummm.......I say to myself. That happens to me a lot.

So then I come to the "related links" part of the Wiki entry and see "Exploding Head Syndrome". Never saw the phrase before, but I know what it is right away. Didn't even have to click on the link. I did though...and eventually I end up here.

I'm male, 54 years old, and I experience EHS quite frequently. Don't know when it started but I've had it for a long time. Sounds to me like the twang of a breaking guitar string or the snapping of a taut piano wire. Sometimes it's very loud and startles me, other times it barely registers. I also get a post-twang reverb effect now and then. I've never felt the electric tingle or experienced light flashes. Never saw the shadow people (and boy am I glad about that).

It's never really worried me. Notice that I didn't write that "I suffer from EHS". I always felt it was just a normal ear thing....some sort of internal tension release. No pain or discomfort is associated with the sound....just a mild sense of wonder at the physical phenomenon. A particularly loud one will sometimes elicit a WTF type reaction.

For what it's worth to researchers, I share some things in common with other posters. I did my share (maybe a tad bit more than my share) of drugs back in the '60s, but I haven't touched them for over twenty years. I rarely drink. I work a constantly rotating shift schedule and often find myself having difficulty getting to sleep. On the odd occasion when I'm able to sleep during normal hours (at night), I sleep well.



......and that's my story.