Wow, I just found a name for something that I have experienced before, but just now tried to find info about on the net. I found that it is called Exploding Head Syndrome. Sometimes when I am falling asleep, I hear a loud startling noise like a gunshot or a cannon, and it wakes me up. I can't believe I'm not the only one who has this. It's a little scary, but not too bad. Maybe it will be better now since I know what it is (kind of). I also read many years ago that hearing a noise like this is a sign of having an OBE (outer body experience) but, whatever. The article is a few years old, but it is news to me. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Noises in the head are scary but harmless October 24, 2000 BY JOEL SAPER http://www.freep.com/news/health/good24_20001024.htm SOMETIMES THE MOST AWFUL symptom can be entirely harmless. Such is the case with certain types of headache conditions that produce severe and intolerable pain but carry no dangerous implication. The same is true with a rare condition called exploding head syndrome. More than 55 cases have been reported in the medical literature. But it is likely that hundreds, if not thousands, of patients have experienced this phenomenon. A nighttime phenomenon The condition is characterized by a terrifying sense of explosive noise in the head, and it typically occurs within an hour or two after falling asleep. Individuals report that they are awakened by a startling and frightening massive sound that they can clearly distinguish from a dream. It occurs exclusively at night and is unaccompanied by any pain. The sound has been described as an "explosion," "enormous roar" and "so loud it could kill me." Activities prior to retiring at bedtime do not appear to have any relationship to the sound, although three physicians, who themselves suffered from these attacks, report that the incidents occur during periods of personal stress or when they are particularly tired and overworked. The attacks may develop at any time during life, even in childhood. Women are slightly more likely to experience these events than men. Sometimes two or more attacks may occur over a period of days or weeks, followed by total remission. One individual reported up to seven attacks in one night, only to have them vanish for several months. Some individuals experience only one such attack during a lifetime. A family history of similar attacks has been reported by a few individuals, and some report a history of migraine or epilepsy. After the attack, patients often feel a sense of terror, rapid heartbeat and anxiety. No cause has been found A 73-year-old physically and mentally normal woman who experienced attacks of migraine throughout her life began to experience, at age 67, a different type of attack that would occur 2-3 times per week, exclusively during sleep. The attacks were characterized by "being awakened by a sudden bang in my head, as if my head were bursting, with a flash of light in both eyes, and after which I would feel dazed for a split second." The individual reported that she was terrified and experienced "heart thumping" after the attack. No pain was experienced. Her examination was normal, and the patient remained healthy. No underlying cause has been identified to explain the condition, which was first reported in 1988. Some authorities have suggested that it may have something to do with a sudden movement of a middle ear component or a "springing open" of the eustachian tube. Others have suggested that it may be related to a minor seizure in the temporal lobe that contains the nerve cells for hearing. All agree, however, that exploding head syndrome is an entirely benign condition, is not caused by psychological disturbances and is very real and frightening.
Never had that happen before, but I've experienced a feeling where I feel like I'm being shocked when I'm falling asleep. It's weird.
I hate that thing where all the sudden i'm having a dream and then I just kick really hard out of nowhere and wake myself up.
I think I've actually had that happen. It wakes you right up in an instant. Kind of a white flash like you just rammed into a wall at light speed. Its usually in that stage between fully asleep and dozing off. I don't have any history of migraine or epilepsy though. Must just be one of those things. I never thought anyone else would know what I was talking about so I don't think I've ever asked. Thanks for posting that.
Closest I've had is that sudden, out-of-nowhere, pit-of-the-stomach sensation that I'm falling, which jars me awake. No exploding, though.
Yes, I hate dreaming about riding a bicycle then I am about to run into a wall or something so I try to stomp on the pedals to brake myself. Stupid me.
I think this better describes what I have. It is definitely in between full sleep and dozing off. I always think it sounds like a gun going off or a door slamming really freaking hard. Then I jump up and see my wife is laying there totally asleep, so I chill out and go back to sleep. Really weird. I also have the jerk my body really hard and wake my ass up episodes. Those just piss me off unlike the loud sound that scare the crap out of me momentarily.
I get this strange electrical roar "sound" in my head ~ it usually coincides with lucid dreaming (awake in my dream). One time I woke up after this and there was smoke coming out of my ears...
I've had a couple of episodes of the "enormous roar" sound. Then being awake, unable to move, it freaked me out enough that I checked into the out of body experience literature. During the time that I couldnt move it felt like my mind was somehow detached from body, then it came back and I could sit up. I remember three times it has happened in my lifetime. On two occassions I also saw geometric shapes kind of rotating in my peripheral vision. Very strange experience.
I've been reading about "Restless Legs Syndrome", which patients report the sensation of worms crawling in their calves and the urgent need to get out of bed and walk around the room.
My wife has a sleep experience known as The Incubus in which she feels like someone is putting a heavy weight on her chest to keep her from breathing. She'll wake me in the middle of the night to accuse me of trying to murder her. Eekamouse, I think the paralysis is another common sleep disorder in which chemicals used to keep your muscles still during REM inhibit you from moving if you wake suddenly.
I think the two could be the same, just that different people have different symptoms. I've woken up unable to move and had a feeling that somebody was in my apartment and could hear footsteps, but have never felt like somembody on me or choking me. It's a pretty scary feeling since your laying there unable to move. Here is the wikipedia article about Sleep Paralysis.
That's a medical condition known as the hypnic jerk . Quit common. Happens to very many people, myself included. Most of this one this thread can actually be attributed to similar occurences of the nervous system "jolting" or "banging." It happens the most when the individual is going to sleep while thinking of unfinished work or a problem situation. No. You're not wierd.
I hope no one here has this... "He was aware of some sleepwalking and there was circumstantial evidence, including the unexplained presence of condoms around the house," Dr Buchanan said. "On one occasion he awoke to find her absent from the bedroom and searched until he found her - engaged in such activity." link
