# Ask the guy with Exploding Head Syndrome **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604 "2010-10-18T23:55:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/1 "2010-10-18T23:55:13Z")
I just recently realized I have [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome) condition thingy. Several times in the past couple years, I have been awoken by extremely loud explosions. It took several occurrences for me to even become aware that this was going on. After possibly the fifth or sixth time, I was asking myself stuff like ‘huh, did an explosion wake me up last night?’ Eventually, I trained myself to wake up enough to ensure that nothing actually exploded and commit the experience to memory. It’s not really an explosion, but more of a crescendo ending in an explosion. Also involved in the crescendo, my heartbeat speeds up and my closed eyelids get much brighter. There aren’t any lucid dreams involved that I’m aware of. Just the illusion of sound and light. Feel free to ask me about this or anything else. If anybody else has EHS, I suggest we get together and form an advocacy group. We’d use creative methods of garnering awareness of EHS, stuff like blasting airhorns at sleeping public officials. I’m also a very talented swearer and can hold my breath for a long time, so feel free to ask about that stuff too. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/2 "2010-10-19T00:19:29Z")
When it first happened, did you think there had been an actual explosion? I had it once back during the cold war and I thought Albuquerque was being nuked. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/3 "2010-10-19T00:27:20Z")
Is it similar to that falling feeling you get when falling asleep? Is it something that can happen once or is it an all or nothing thing? My head exploded once, I still vividly remember it, but people always look at me like I’m nuts when I tell them what happened. When it happened to me, it wasn’t that my head ‘exploded’ it was that a comet flew through my head. With the falling thing, as you’re falling asleep, you’ll picture yourself falling and you’re whole body jerks when you hit the bottom. This was similar to that. As I was falling asleep, there was a comet flying through the air, the ‘jerk’ happened when it went through my head, it was one of the loudest things I ever ‘heard’ and bright as hell. At the time it felt very real and took me a good while to shake the feeling and get back to bed. ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/4 "2010-10-19T00:38:38Z")
I also have this disorder. Mine tends to show up in times of great stress, or after much sleep deprivation. ---
**Author:** ![berff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@berff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berff)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/5 "2010-10-19T00:49:44Z")
I might have had this before but I’m not sure. About once a week while I was sleeping, I used to get a vibrating sensation in my head that would become increasingly intense. I always felt as though my head were about to explode but I could always make myself wake up before it got that far. It happened on a regular basis for a period of about 10 years but for some reason, it stopped completely about 3 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/6 "2010-10-19T00:54:07Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My head exploded once, I still vividly remember it, but people always look at me like I’m nuts when I tell them what happened. Did you just walk up to a stranger and say “My head exploded once. I still vividly remember it.”? Because if it happened to me, I honestly can’t imagine telling anyone except a physician, close family, and possibly the Dopers. Anyway, if you do that, consider finding a way to make hastily-stripped wires poke out of one ear. Maybe stick them into a foam earplug or something. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/7 "2010-10-19T01:58:35Z")
It’s very similar to [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyEu15Akz_E), except the jet’s got a spotlight attached to its nose. It most often happens when I’m sleep deprived or drunk. So I was never really cogent enough in the beginning to think it was an actual explosion. Unlike Joey P and Berff, it doesn’t seem to be accompanied by any physical sensation, like falling or vibrating. It’s strictly visual and auditory with a little adrenaline jump thrown in. I’d say I have explosive sleep eight times a year. Along with drinking, sleeping on my back is a risk factor. Before I start that advocacy group, I just want to make it clear that we will _not_ be meeting Thursday nights, and we will _not_ be meeting at IHOP or Shoney’s. Seriously, fuck IHOP and Shoney’s. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/8 "2010-10-19T03:21:02Z")
I have [Hypnic jerks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk) fairly frequently, usually if I am really tired. these can be accompanied by a “somewhat muted scream” as one of my bed partners. I guess it meant that I woke her up, but did not scare her. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/9 "2010-10-19T03:24:11Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I have [Hypnic jerks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk) fairly frequently, usually if I am really tired. > > these can be accompanied by a “somewhat muted scream” as one of my bed partners. I guess it meant that I woke her up, but did not scare her. I really hate those. I’m just getting to sleep and my leg or sometimes my entire body spasms. It’s often hard enough to fully wake me back up. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/10 "2010-10-19T03:58:13Z")
Exploding Head Syndrome is not what I thought it would be. What I thought it would be could only happen once. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/11 "2010-10-19T04:02:55Z")
I think this might have happened to me one time, it was like a phonograph needle being dragged across a record, very very loud. I knew it was in my head though. ---
**Author:** ![Jaded\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@Jaded\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaded_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/12 "2010-10-19T04:11:12Z")
I get this a lot and I hate it! I used to get up and wander around the house thinking maybe something had fallen if it wasn’t an explosion. I also sometimes have sleep paralysis and it is terrifying when it happens but doesn’t seem so scarey when I’m awake. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/13 "2010-10-19T04:12:23Z")
> [@Walmarticus](#): > > sleeping on my back is a risk factor. Interesting. I get some pretty frequent and hard-hitting sleep paralysis, for which sleeping on my back is definitely the biggest risk factor. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/14 "2010-10-19T04:41:15Z")
I know some of you have said you know it’s not real, but does the sound _seem_ like it comes from inside of you, or somewhere else in the room? I mean, I occasionally have hypnagogic hallucinations (the type people have while falling asleep, that often seem like you’re still awake except for crazy thing X, Y, or Z happening. thought to be responsible for reports of witches and aliens), and while I know they’re not real, they definitely seem like they’re really happening outside my head while they’re going on. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/15 "2010-10-19T05:22:15Z")
I have had these but only while on Effexor or on the downside of weaning off other anti-depressants. While on Effexor, I had them frequently and would interrogate my husband, refusing to believe that there was a possibility he didn’t hear that massive explosion that rocked me awake. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/16 "2010-10-19T05:24:15Z")
Actually, if you have ever seen the movie _Paranormal Activity_, that very loud noise in the first one of the videos where something goes wonky is very similar to the exploding head sound I have experienced. So much so, in fact, that I was really, really freaked watching the movie because I _knew_ that sound and recognized it. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/17 "2010-10-19T05:38:04Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I know some of you have said you know it’s not real, but does the sound _seem_ like it comes from inside of you, or somewhere else in the room? I mean, I occasionally have hypnagogic hallucinations (the type people have while falling asleep, that often seem like you’re still awake except for crazy thing X, Y, or Z happening. thought to be responsible for reports of witches and aliens), and while I know they’re not real, they definitely seem like they’re really happening outside my head while they’re going on. Speaking for myself, no. It’s kind of awkward to explain, but it’s like a blast on ears _inside_ my brain. It seems sort of like the total opposite of what you describe, like a hallucination inside of me instead of outside. Weird. > [@Maeglin](#): > > Interesting. I get some pretty frequent and hard-hitting sleep paralysis, for which sleeping on my back is definitely the biggest risk factor. I’ve also heard that sleeping supine contributes to the vividness of dreams, for those who suffer nightmares and such. I’m pretty sure it’s not just risky for you and me. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/18 "2010-10-19T15:35:41Z")
I get something like this too, though for me it’s always been something like the sound of a door slamming. I can “feel” the sound in my ear (usually the right one), but it isn’t "painful’ the way a loud door slam is in real life, it’s more like a vibration. The difference in feeling in my ear is how I know the sound didn’t actually occur. I never tracked when it happened, but I think it is associated with tiredness/night time. I’m an insomniac, so I guess that explains why it happens fairly often - maybe once every month or two. I used to get a little freaked out by it, but now it’s more of a momentary “was that real or not? No? Ok then” and I go back to what I was doing. My husband thinks I’m a little crazy (for this and other reasons). We’ve had threads about this before, and I somehow always manage to forget the name of the syndrome so that I can show him that it’s real! I was actually just wondering about it a couple of days ago, when it happened while I was reading a book! ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/19 "2010-10-19T15:53:47Z")
Have you ever seen _Scanners_? ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604/20 "2010-10-19T16:05:33Z")
I’ve had a couple of times when I heard what sounded like a very loud explosion or bang just as I was going to sleep. I thought it was in my apartment, but later came to realize that it was probably in my head. I know I’m jinxing myself, but I haven’t had it happen for a while now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-with-exploding-head-syndrome/557604.md?page=2)