Have you ever heard weird shit before you fall asleep at night? Well, come to find out, that is a disorder. Congratulations, you're messed up!
But that's okay. So am I.
Today, I wanted to bring a fun little syndrome to light that a lot of people have but have had no idea they have it! Not only is it quirky, and kind of creepy, it has an awesome name! Ticks all the boxes. Ladies and germs, I present:
Exploding Head Syndrome! (EHS)
I happened to find out that I have this from poking around on REDDIT of all places. There was a thread on weird illnesses/disorders and since I like horrifying myself, I naturally started reading.
"Exploding head syndrome (EHS), alternately termed episodic cranial sensory shock, is a benign condition in which a person hears loud imagined noises (such as a bomb exploding, a gunshot, or a cymbal crash) or experiences an explosive feeling when falling asleep or waking up. These noises have a sudden onset, are typically brief in duration, and are often jarring for the person. Neither the cause nor the mechanism is known. Though harmless in and of themselves, episodes have been known to create distress or impairment in the lives of individuals."
~ Wikipedia definition
Weirdly, I never thought anything of these auditory hallucinations until I found out that it has a name. I assumed that those sounds were normal for everyone, so normal, in fact, that no one really talks about them. Much like the hypnagogic jerks that pretty much every person gets before falling asleep.
Well, I was wrong!
EHS can be different for everyone. For example, my brother has it as well, but he only has his when awaking and his sound is always the same, someone calling his name. Whereas in my case, I have it before falling asleep and the sounds are quite varied. Any given night I can hear blood curdling screams, explosions (sometimes accompanied by a physical "shock wave"), glass breaking, wood splintering, or even church bells chiming. Sexy.
Along with the normal auditory sounds, there is the possibility of brief visual hallucinations that accompany them. Most common are flashes of light like one would see during a detonation, static, or lightning. It can cause heart palpatations, sweating, even cause you to stop breathing and you have to make the manual effort to breath again. Think having the wind knocked out of you, it is just like that.
Needless to say, it can be pretty disturbing.
What is worse is that these episodes can come sporadically for sufferers. It can be every night for weeks. It can be once a week. It can go away for months only to hear a nuke going off in your backyard out of nowhere. There is no rhyme or reason, there is no way to predict it, AND no way to treat it.
Thankfully, it appears to be pretty harmless! Well, at least as far as the few studies done on it have concluded, although, there seems to be a strong correlation between anxiety sufferers and EHS. Which, if you ask me, could seem like a real "Chicken or the egg" question.
Do you have Exploding Head Syndrome because you have anxiety?
Do you have anxiety because it sounds like the damn world is ending when you try to nap?!
But the worst part?
No one really knows WHY this syndrome exists or the true root cause. It is literally all hypothesis based. There really isn't a lot I can tell you.
The most popular hypothesis is that it has to do with a little issue with your brain stem. Yes, your brain stem. More specifically, the reticular formation found there.
The reticular formation is made up of around one hundred wee neural networks that do some pretty mundane, but fucking important, stuff. Like communicating with your spine, cardiovascular functions, transference or blocking of pain, and meddles with your sleep/conscious state. It is also responsible for your ability to process things and turn them into white noise but remain alerted to other changes or auditory stimuli in your environment.
That last bit is controlled by your reticular activation system. And appears to be the little bugger that is at fault. Well... that and the part that dabbles with your sleep/conscious state and communicates with your cerebral cortex. The RAS is what controls your transition from awake to deep sleep and back again. EHS probably has something to do with how your RAS communicates with the rest of your body before dropping into REM sleep.
For example, if that part of your brain was damaged, you'd be stuck with Freddy Krueger forever. It is pretty important.
Some theories of cause or correlation include:
- Minor seizures affecting the temporal lobe
- Ear dysfunctions, including sudden shifts in middle ear components or the Eustachian tube, or a rupture of the membranous labyrinth or labyrinthine fistula
- Stress and anxiety
- Variable and broken sleep, associated with a decline in delta sleep
- Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome
- Temporary calcium channel dysfunction
(sourced from Wikipedia)
That's all we got, folks. That's right, you're hearing the sounds of the coming apocalypse at bedtime and we don't really know why. But on the bright side... you aren't going to die from it! ( As far as anyone knows)
In closing: you may have something wrong with your brain!
But that's okay. I still love you. Bring it in, weirdo.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticular_formation
Gif credit to Sharegif, Tenor, and Tumblr. Cover image from Pixabay.
Woaaaaaaaaa I remember hearing people call my name before bed when I was a kid but never screams or explosions, I'd be in the fetal position 24/7 😱!
Random but if I had anything to add I'd say see a chiropractor, if it's brain stem or inner ear related an adjustment could help the flow of blood and spinal fluid to the brain get where it's going- it's possible to have a pinched nerve as well and not feel any pain because not all nerves are pain receptors.
Just had to share, I used to work for a chirp so I picked up a few things 🤗💕 *bringing it in as instructed
There you go! You have it, too!
I would see a chiropractor but too many of my family members have been messed up irreversibly by doing so! Definitely not bagging on chiro's or those that find that it beneficial, it is just something I personally give a wide berth! But thank you so much for the suggestion!
I'm not too worried about fixing it, it is only scary once in a while. I have gotten pretty used to it. Problem being that if someone was shooting in my house I would probably just put a pillow over my head and groan. LOL
Totally understand, I've heard so many chiro horror stories, guess I was just really lucky to find the one I did.
In terms of personal security and safety, I thinik it's time to get A DOG!!! YAYAYAY! DOGS FOR EVERYONE!
Thank you for this post @stitchy, very interesting. My mother that is 77 lately just got very deaf, and now sometimes but while awake she says she hears some noises. She also get mini-strokes know as binswanger disease. Some of this to correlate with some of the things you said, but she hear it when she is awake. Not going to sleep or waking up. I am sorry that you suffer from this, it would be very unsettling for me. Have a nice weekend!
That actually has a name! That very well could be Musical Ear Syndrome or phantom sounds, which can be pretty common with people that have hearing loss. But it can also be an indication of issues with the brain, so that paired with the binswanger she may want to get checked out, especially with the mini-strokes. (Naturally, I am not a doctor by any stretch)
I'm so sorry she is going through this! I wish her and you the best!
Have a great weekend, darling! Hope to see you in Discord again soon!
wow @stitchybitch I am impressed by your knowledge. Thanks so much, she is on treatment for the Binswanger but we did not take her to check out the hearing loss. It happened in about 2 weeks time. Will do it soon. Thanks for your good wishes. Will see in discord. I pop in there once in a while. Lovies.
Wow, look at you educating us
So early on a Saturday morning. This is very interesting and I to never heard of it. Does this keep you from falling asleep?
Oh, absolutely! Sometimes it shakes me pretty bad, but more often than not I gasp for breath, open one eye to check for nuclear fallout/broken glass, pull the blanket over my head, and go to sleep. laughs
So glad you found this educational and interesting, I tried to keep it fun! <3
Well, that is one way to do it... I pray for you :)
Damn sweetheart.
First of all, this is a killer post!
I was laughing in the beginning, and then...I got to the description. Wow. I was like, "That's me!" It's the "gunshot/explosion" sound while falling asleep for me. And I wonder....reticular formation? does that have anything to do with the vegus nerve? Interesting shit over Saturday coffee... TY, Stichy!!
Thank you so much! Getting a "killer" from you is awesome!
It does, actually! The vagus nerve is located in the... lateral reticular formation section? Maybe the medial? I am going by memory so don't quote me on that one! LOL
I had to go brush up on some my brain knowledge for this post, for sure. I didn't think "That thing. You know... the brain meat dangle bit" was going to cut it.
But yep, you have EHS! Glad that I could give you the name for your headbooms!
"brain meat dangle bit" Rollicking!!
😂😂😂😂
I've read up on this. Surprised to NOT see the exploding head gif from the P.K.Dick based film (scanners?) Dick wrote about this throughout his work if you read closely like me. I am a Yuge DickHead!
This is awesome! I'll have to pick up some of his work! I've seen Scanners but wasn't aware there was literature!
And that Gif is saved on my computer but figured it might be a little too graphic for my post. Sadly.
<3
wow... this is a great piece. this things happen and have driven many people out of their minds. the good thing is there is someone who is talking about it to make people understand a 'basic' bit of it.
I also like the fact that you made it as mild as possible to make everyone able to relate with it and contribute. thanks for sharing. this is a great, educative and interesting piece of work
Wow! What an amazing comment! Thank you so much!
I am glad I could bring a little weirdness AND information to Steemit! So glad that you enjoyed it. <3
ICYMI: https://goo.gl/images/mez2Y1
There it is!
I have this too lol always around sleep but sometimes in the day I think I hear things too! Interesting to know this has a name!
So many people have this! I think it is so cool that everyone is coming out on this and going "Ah! Me, too! I didn't know it was a thing either!"
Scary stuff! Never heard of it before. Thank you for sharing.
It can be pretty spooky! But I think it is more interesting than terrifying!
Thank you for reading and dropping by to comment, Muxxy!
Well, yeah. I do have something wrong with my brain...
That stress and anxiety is such a fucker always a symptom and fucks everything up. Times are tough at the moment political and economic system are creaking under their own bullshit. However ahead is a beacon of hope crypto,steemit and all things decentralised.
I have experienced this. Usually when falling asleep. I think I hear something and suddenly I'm wide awake and there is nothing going on.
One of us! One of us! Gooble gobble!
Sometimes when I close my eyes I see flashes of light - so I'm a different kind of crazy....
That is the Techno Madness!
Smashing a coffee cup on my head hasn't helped... now what?
Tape glowsticks to your ceiling fan and find yourself a rising sound!
While I was stealing your first gif of the guy exploding, I could swear I actually heard the Mission Impossible music playing in my head.
Wtf I have this. I hear random explosions all the time before and during sleep. It started happening after I crashed a motorized bicycle a few years ago and had crazy head trauma. I had no idea it was a thing. Hahaha thanks for the info stitchy, you're the best :)
Holy shit! I am sorry you got head trauma! But, I'm not sorry if that made you the weird little fucker that we all adore so much. :D
We really need T-shirts.
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I think those episodes are pretty common, I dont dream explosions, I usually hit a wall riding a bike or sth that has to do with falling.
I researched that while the brain falls in sleep mode, it send out chemicals to stop motoric functions to protect itself from movin/reacting while being in REM phase, and that during the switchover it is possible for some impulses to come through causing the body to shake for a milli second while already being in dream mode
I usually wake up from those and go right back to sleepj
I know this syndrome, sometimes I can hear strange creepy voices. In addition, I can see across my eyelashes, moreover the room-walls as well! This cannot be explained with brain disorder. In my case, this is a soul-journey, which comes with lucid dreams, that can be more real than awakeness.
I guess I have thin syndrome to cause I hear weird sounds of screams but not to loud before I fell asleep.
Wow, I'd never thought that something wrong with my brain (even though I'm a little crazy and dumb sometimes 😂😂)
Great post !
Upvoted
😁
I love this. The brain and its quirks is one of my favorite topics. I remember when they first had ads for drugs for "Restless leg syndrome" and all these comedians were making fun of it as a non-existent condition. But all I could think was, "Finally! Someone has finally described what I used to experience as a child." I used to have these weird leg sensations when I was trying to sleep, as if all the nerves in my legs suddenly had the impulse to move, but moving didn't really help. And I couldn't get to sleep sometimes because of it. This was back in the late 1970s, so when they started talking about it on tv 40 years later I couldn't believe there was finally a name for it.
I've only heard someone calling my name when I lived in a creepy old apartment where there were other unexplained phenomena.
I was just reading a fascinating book recently that covers at least some of these phenomena. It's called Hallucinations and is by the late Oliver Sachs. He was a neuroscientist who studied all manner of interesting phenomena and pathologies of the brain. In this book he describes patients who have gone blind who have compensatory visual hallucinations and people who have become deaf who start to hallucinate sounds. His hypothesis is that the brain is looking to stimulate the areas of itself that used to have outside input and no longer do, so it creates them so that that part of the brain continues to be exercised and to function. This obviously doesn't cover people who are not deaf, but he talks about numerous other types of hallucinations in the book in a very respectful and thoughtful way and goes out of his way to make it clear that these experiences are completely real for the people having them and it does not make them mentally ill.
Hearing explosions all the time is not exactly how I want to wake up in the morning, nor when I go to sleep for that matter. The stage between awake and sleeping is a host for many strange and unsettling experiences. Hypnogogic imagery is a fun one, where your dream world overlaps your waking causing visual and audio hallucinations. I've heard screaming myself, and sirens- it is not fun. (this only happens while I'm falling asleep on rare occasion)
I literally thought this was a post about spontaneous human combustion but still an awesome read c:
This has happened to me on occasion when I was younger (usually I was overtired and occasionally hung over) and it is the most horrible experience. I cannot even imagine having it as a chronic condition. Wonderful post.
I've had this happen before, but only sporadically. It definitely doesn't happen every time, but I know exactly what you're referring to. I've had it happen when I'm waking and when I go to sleep. Like you, the noises aren't the same every time either. It's rare enough for me that I often go looking for the source of the sound.
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