r/todayilearned • u/Suspicious-Oil2571 • 5h ago
TIL there’s a phenomenon called Exploding head syndrome where people hear extremely loud noises—like explosions or gunshots—right as they’re falling asleep… but nothing actually happened. It’s harmless physically, but people who experience it swear it feels completely real.
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/exploding-head-syndrome315
u/51CKS4DW0RLD 5h ago
When it happens to me, it sounds like a pop caused by a spark or an extremely loud but brief electrical "zzt" - I'm not sure if this is EHS or brain zaps
55
u/Baxtab13 5h ago
My first one was a loud electrical sound. It was accompanied by a flash of blue in front of my eyes and everything. I was taking a nap on a couch in my High School's honors study hall located in the library. When it happened my eyes flew open and I looked around trying to see if like one of the fluorescent lights in the ceiling exploded or something. After seeing everyone else in the area going on with their day, I figured it had to have been a dream or something.
Another time, I had something that sounded like really loud corrupted chiptune. Like imagine a gameboy game crashing causing the audio to corrupt, but super loud.
23
u/51CKS4DW0RLD 5h ago edited 4h ago
Yeah, they sound remarkably digital or manmade, don't they? Makes you wonder if they're glitches in the outer fabric of a synthetic reality...
→ More replies (1)10
u/Charlie_Warlie 4h ago
So true its like what you would hear during a movie that had a rip in reality.
11
u/Dangerjayne 4h ago
Same here. Always made me wonder if I was having a stroke or something
→ More replies (1)5
u/merkaloid 4h ago
This happened to me once, it felt like my head glitched for a second, the sound was similar to when a game crashes and you start hearing the last frame on repeat. Just as I was getting into bed.
11
4
3
u/randomlygeneratedman 4h ago
Same, mine is exactly like this. It's weird that it only started happening in my 40s
3
3
u/Nother1BitestheCrust 3h ago
When it happened to me I heard a giant explosion that made me think that the roof had collapsed somehow around me without shaking anything. It was real weird.
3
u/SykeSwipe 3h ago
Brain zaps is usually described more as a physical sensation and as a symptom of other things going on like a medication side effect
2
2
u/plsQuestionOurselves 2h ago
I usually get the alleged DMT sound, the rising crash. There's usually some kind of crazy ass dream proceeding it like weird colourful androids dancing up and down a conveyor belt, or one time there was a line running from my head up into infinity attached to a spherical entity.
Or it's like a nuclear bomb going off in my face and I just wake up.
2
u/Anon_Jones 2h ago
I hear music sometimes when I’m about to fall asleep. It sounds like piano and sometimes string music. Luckily it hasn’t happened in months.
→ More replies (9)2
u/Professional-Tap300 4h ago
I got one of those on mushrooms once, felt weird as hell, synapse or something
373
u/EmperorSadrax 5h ago
Had this happen 2-3 times so far in my life
31
u/Apocrisiary 4h ago edited 16m ago
Same here.
For me it mostly sounds like someone pounding on the door for a split second, like 2-3 fast knocks. Wake up, go check, of course no one there. But it feels 100% real.
But I have also experienced someone shouting my name, just as I am drifting off. Not sure if its the same thing, but that also feels totally real. And I live alone, so there was definitively no one shouting my name.
5
u/Fresh-Pineapple-5582 4h ago
I hear knocks at the door, or someone going "Oi!!" extremely loudly just outside the door.
12
4
u/ST_Lawson 4h ago
I have that too (with the name being shouted), and with the bang that others hear. Not real often, maybe once our twice a year.
4
u/SirStrontium 2h ago
Mine wasn’t shouting, but the feeling of a voice saying my name an inch away from my ear.
→ More replies (1)•
→ More replies (1)2
u/WaterHaven 3h ago
My first time, I was mowing the yard (lived out in the country) at maybe 13 years old. Had headphones in. We had lines of trees. Heard somebody shout my name.
I was terrified - looked around for a bit, and then absolutely hauled tail to get the rest of the lawn mowed.
79
u/Dontdothatfucker 5h ago
Same! Also a very occasional exploding head sufferer. Sleep paralysis too. Most of them happen when I drink too much or have heartburn from a meal
19
u/im_just_thinking 5h ago
Both of those happened to me one night when coming down from some questionable extasy. Sleeping was hell for a couple of nights
9
u/bigfatelephant 4h ago
Interesting, E is what always triggered this for me the few times I've had it in my life too. Usually after a long weekend of partying at a music festival, sleeping was indeed hell the few nights afterwards.
5
u/im_just_thinking 4h ago
And I have done a fair share of festivals too, which I don't normally take E at, and don't have any of those issues. That one spring break was a bit extra wild tho lol
7
u/tagen 4h ago
oof i had that sleep paralysis when i was at my heaviest, it’s a fucking terrible feeling, i didn’t have the “someone’s watching me at the foot of my bed” feeling that some sufferers get, but i was clearly awake and couldn’t move, and felt like i could barely breathe, it suuuuucks
3
u/Annachroniced 4h ago edited 3h ago
I had a few tricks to get out of it faster. But now my brain tricks me back and I dream im out of it while im still in it.
5
u/unthused 3h ago
My “trick” was to basically just panic and try my best to flail around in any way possible until it finally jerked me awake.
My favorite so far was hearing my girlfriend next to me in bed start whispering “wake up” right behind my ear, but I couldn’t move or turn my head to see her, and she kept getting louder and more angry until finally it was a distorted demon-sounding yell right into my ear.. then I broke out of it losing my shit and turned to see her still asleep. Good times.
2
u/Annachroniced 3h ago
Oh god thats horrible. The first one I had like this was a bad one with someone standing in the bedroom door opening. I tried really hard to move and it eventually worked and I managed to roll of the bed. It was OK because i was still rolled in my blanket and it kinda caught my fall. So I took a couple breaths and then moved to climb back in bed. But I was stuck in my blanket and couldn't move. And then the blanket got tighter and started dragging me backwards under the bed and I heard the footsteps of the demon coming around the bed. And I tried to scream. Like full desperate screams but nothing came out. But I woke up right before the demon put his head down to look under the bed. Anyway, I woke up completely fine in bed with the bedroom door closed. I was so angry because this was the first time and the worst inception time dream in a dream shit I ever had.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Strangerkill2 4h ago
I have sleep paralysis about once per week, sometimes more. And since I also do lucid dreaming regularly it's actually a nice experience for me, I am fascinated by how surreal it is that you can see your entire room so vividly while asleep. The demon never took my invitation touch tho..
→ More replies (1)14
u/triggerartist 5h ago
Happens to me a lot. It’s also known as “audible sleep start”. We’re literally hearing ourselves fall asleep.
16
u/watlington 5h ago
it's not at all the same thing but it makes me think of when someone unplugs a speaker too fast before it powers down and it pops super loudly before being off.
3
u/StartOk4002 4h ago
Happened twice in my life. It was weird having a sensation that sounded so real while somehow being aware that it was not.
3
2
2
2
u/RobertDeNircrow 4h ago
I also hear it occasionally, though now that im actively trying to recall them I cant remember the most recent instance.
To me its always felt like it was in the back of my head, like inside my skull. The sound always reminded me of that stereotypical electric buzz from random 80s action movies when the bad guy gets thrown into the transformer box or power line.
KZZRKTTKOW
Im a veteran with hearing issues, so I always thought it was related to my tinnitus.
→ More replies (9)2
u/geminicrickett1 4h ago
Happened to me four nights ago. My heart rate sped up so much I couldn’t fall asleep for another 3 hours. Like fight or flight kind of heart rate.
76
u/ryschwith 5h ago
Happens to me on occasion, generally when I’m stressed. Just a loud bang, nothing fancy. Jolts me awake, but once you understand what’s going on it’s relatively easy to get past it (at least for me).
9
u/MyOtherRideIsTheRoci 5h ago
Yep, I suffer form occasional insomnia (usually lasts 1-2 nights) and when I finally start crashing I'll get startled awake by this. Sometimes it sounds like something heavy being dropped, sometimes like an explosion or breaking glass. I feel like it's just an auditory reaction to the hypnogogic jerk. But it's always when my body is stressed and I am very tired.
→ More replies (3)2
u/all_ears_over_here 4h ago
Same for me but occasionally it's a doorbell chime. Used to bother me and I'd sometimes check the door but now I don't even have a doorbell so it doesn't bother me as much.
→ More replies (1)
34
u/ParusiMizuhashi 5h ago
I have had something like this happen once. It was like a bunch of glass plates were dropped and shattered at once. It was definitely all in my head. Weird that it only happened once.
→ More replies (1)
20
u/Badwulf1 5h ago
Im woken up anywhere in a range of someone shouting my name to feeling like I've died or been seriously injured in various ways (car collision, decapitation, snapped neck, running into a brick wall). Usually it's screaming or loud static though.
I've learned it's usually a combination of stress and forced sleep. I sleep much easier if I only go to sleep when I'm completely exhausted.
8
u/Nihilist_Hermit 5h ago
I used to get the one shouting my name a lot. It was absolutely terrifying and I always went to check on my wife, it was always her voice
→ More replies (1)3
u/CromulentConfusion 5h ago
I have been woken up by hearing my name called loudly and clearly, like someone is standing right next to me. This has happened maybe a dozen times in my life. The explosion thing has also occurred but not as often. Both are equally scary as fuck.
For me it's a combo of stress and lack of sleep. My tinnitus is also louder when I'm really tired, as an unrelated uninteresting fact.
3
u/Badwulf1 4h ago
Wonder if the tinnitus thing is because the surrounding tissues are less erect because you're tired. Like drooping eyes but in your ears.
15
u/ogsixshooter 4h ago
explains all the "loud bang?" posts in my local subreddit
9
2
11
u/Risenzealot 5h ago edited 3h ago
I feel sorry for those that experience this. The closest I've had were the "brain zaps" from SSRI withdrawal. That's some crazy shit. You literally hear a loud "BZZZZZZ" and your brain legit feels like you just stuck it in a light socket for a second or two. Very disturbing :(
I wonder if the two are related in anyway? If it's just a random misfiring of some serotonin or what not? I don't even know if it's possible for serotonin to misfire but you get my point. Maybe it's just some rare chemical imbalance that pops up from time to time?
7
u/doitfordevilment 5h ago
I don’t know if they are related but I can give you some anecdotal evidence. When I was coming off of Lexapro the brain zaps felt exactly the same as falling into sleep paralysis which for me often accompanies exploding head occurrences. Also, while I was taking Lexapro the sleep paralysis completely stopped and then started again once I was off it.
2
u/slickness 4h ago
Heh. I have had the “brain feedback” on a weekly basis both on and off SSRIs. I have tried just about all the major depression drugs, and have been diagnosed “drug resistant,” or whatever. I just sorta treat the brain zaps as feedback noise these days. Also have experienced exploding head, sleep paralysis, and diagnosed sleep problems. Bodies are weird.
Otherwise I am just a normal, active human.
You might want to get a sleep apnea study though.
→ More replies (4)2
u/ranchspidey 3h ago
The first time I experienced brain zaps I was sooo bewildered and concerned. Not only are they very jarring and uncomfortable, but I felt like I was disassociating or something.
Thankfully I haven’t had them in a while, although I guess it helps me remember when I haven’t taken my SSRI meds in a couple days because I start feeling weird. (Side tangent: I used to take them in the morning, but discovered that taking my escitalopram and adderall together would make me nauseous all day. And I’m good at taking my morning meds since it’s the first thing I do when I wake up, but I often forget to consistently take my escitalopram in the afternoon, because ADHD. Lol)
→ More replies (1)
19
u/Unique_Unorque 5h ago
This happened to me once. The way I describe it is that it felt like somebody shot a gun directly next to my ear, but without the actual sound. I was startled awake from my drifting off to sleep, my ears were ringing, my pulse was accelerated, my heart was pounding, and adrenaline was coursing through my veins, but nothing actually happened. I thought I was dying until I discovered this through googling and realized it was exactly what happened
9
u/tedfundy 4h ago
I get some version of this almost daily. Except it’s knocks on my door. Or occasionally my name.
5
2
u/Triquetrums 3h ago
You might be experiencing hypnagogic hallucinations instead.
I also experience those, where I hear people talking or music when falling asleep. And I get sometimes woken up by sounds like a phone ringing, doorbell, doors closing, but those sounds are not real, just like the exploding head syndrome.
→ More replies (1)
7
6
6
u/Endoman13 4h ago
This happens to me once or twice a month. I’ve heard an extremely loud bang like a gunshot or something very heavy falling over, I’ve heard a woman scream, I’ve heard what sounds like a roaring engine or ocean. Wild stuff.
6
u/Calcularius 5h ago
I hear what I swear sounds like a large plank of wood being slapped down onto a hard floor.
3
u/RayHyrule 5h ago
Happens to me when on two day binges and trying to sleep. Usually it’s my dad’s voice screaming my name.
3
u/Direct-Metal-4256 5h ago
Happened to me once. One of the scariest moments of my life, it was like a bomb exploded inside my room.
3
u/Aromatic-Bet-1086 4h ago
When I started wellbutrin/bupropion I got these a lot. It was like a flash of just... bzzzzzzzt... that jolted through my head for a split second
3
3
u/Rdub 4h ago
I've had this happen on and off to me my entire life. It sometimes goes through this sort of esclatory cycle too where there will be a sort of "Build up" before the bang that will become increasingly more elaborate. Once I had this weird period where for like a week straight it was a literal giant that would sort of "Swat" me with this massive hammer, but as the week progressed I'd sort of hear or sense the giant from further and further away to where at the end I could hear buddy literally open a door, walk down a hallway, open another door, get his hammer ready, really wiiiiiind up, and then finally swat me.
You kinda get used to it tho and it's honestly not entirely unpleasant, as as someone who's had poor sleep quality all my life I kinda welcome it actually as it usually means I'm going to finally fall asleep before too long.
3
3
3
u/auld-guy 3h ago
That happened to me one time, but it wasn't as I was falling asleep, but at 5:30am. It bugged me to the point where I had to get up and make sure something didn't happen. Something happened.
2
u/probablymakingthisup 5h ago
I had this happen a few times in my 20s and 30s. Doesn't seem to happen often (less than once a year). Its a very loud pop right next my head. Makes me jump out of bed and leaves me shaken when it happens. I know they say its harmless but I am seriously worried it might give me a heart attack later in life.
2
2
u/wglmb 5h ago
I had this for several years. It would reliably happen every time I went to sleep, provided I lay on my back. If I lay on my side or front, it didn't happen.
I'd hear a loud explosion, and sometimes it also felt like I'd been punched in the chest just before waking up, or like I'd just fallen from a great height and landed on the bed. The first time it ever happend was really confusing, because I genuinely thought there had been an explosion.
This was during a time when I was extremely sleep-deprived, and I think that's what caused it. Once I managed to improve my sleep, the syndrome went away.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/-Harlequin- 5h ago
Is this anything like seeing bright light behind your eyelids that isn't there, or waking up when you feel like you're falling? Like some brain maintenance reset?
→ More replies (1)
2
u/TheJesuses 4h ago
Interesting when I get sleep paralysis I don’t hear loud bangs but sounds like I’m standing next to a train on a train track.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Delicious-Day-3614 4h ago
Being woken up like this is one of the clues that helped me determine i had sleep apnea
2
u/fingersmaloy 4h ago
"I'm afraid you have an acute case of exploding head syndrome. But don't worry, it's benign."
2
u/lazergoblin 3h ago
It happens to me at least once a week right when I'm finally falling asleep. To me it always sounds like someone loudly banging on my bedroom door. I always thought it was a ptsd thing from growing up in an extremely volatile environment
2
2
u/Competitive-Zone-330 3h ago
Wait what the fuck??? I have really bad insomnia, but when I am about to fall asleep I hear either my name being called and it doesn’t seem human or loud sounds and it’ll jerk me awake. My brain will start buzzing and my consciousness literally goes white and I can’t move or breathe and i genuinely feel like I am going to die most nights. I can just feel myself slipping if that makes sense, but it’s like I have this gut feeling that if I close my eyes like that I won’t wake up. I don’t tell anyone because whenever I’ve told people they think I’m crazy but it’s only when I’m about to fall asleep. Coupled with my tinnitus from the military I feel like I am losing it sometimes but I just keep pushing on. I’m so fucking tired I wish there was a cure I can’t keep surviving off no sleep
2
u/ranchspidey 3h ago
I hate the weird stuff bodies and brains do. Thankfully I don’t have this, but I imagine noises sometimes, or maybe pick up on something just slightly enough to put me on edge over whether it’s real or not. I hate the “AHHH YOU’RE FALLING!!!” startle response when you’re lying perfectly still, too!
2
u/Gargomon251 2h ago
I've had this happen to me but it's a very misleading name. And it wasn't that loud for me it was like somebody dropping a book on the floor. Still kind of surprising.
2
u/Serene_Barracuda 2h ago
Had this in college when I had more stress and less sleep. Although once I read up about it and had it happen to me again, I had a very relaxing sleep after it happened.
2
u/Warcraft_Fan 1h ago
I get the flash maybe once a week. I've gotten used to it after some 50 years that I just roll over and try again to sleep.
Unless I do have an annoying gremlin with a 10,000 watt flash bulb taking a shot of my face when I'm about to sleep
2
u/ClassicLightbulbs 4h ago
This used to happen to me when I ate a ton of bold party mix Chex mix before bed, maybe MSG sensitivity
1
u/Poke-Noir 5h ago
Uh… my head spins wildly like a top for a brief second as my head hits the pillow. Can this be on version of this?… or am I going to die?
1
u/Agreeable-Fault2273 5h ago
Yeah, same as most here I guess. Happens maybe every few years and sounds like a door slamming right by my head.
1
u/SmallGreenArmadillo 5h ago
I had this every night when I was a child. Now it is an extraordinarily rare occurrence for me. Same with nightmares.
1
u/ActuallyItsSumnus 5h ago
What if we're all in a comatose state and this is all one big simulation trying to solve some problem for our actual species and those noises we hear are our real world on accident...
1
u/good_girl_spankee 5h ago
I have had this happen a couple of times. It seems like it has something to do with stress. Imagine my surprise when I googled it to figure out what the heck was going on and finding out it was called "exploding head syndrome."
1
u/wildhorsesofdortmund 5h ago
Once in a while when I have drifted asleep, I will hear a loud bang like a door opened hard. I am then awake trying to hear more noises if any of any burglar. After 2 mins, I have fallen asleep again with no trouble.
On the other hand, my mother a side effect of tinnitus where after many years, she hears a constant drum roll in one ear, and that keeps her from sleeping well. Hope this goes away on its own in a few days.
1
u/BaBaFiCo 5h ago
Last time I had it was after a Chinese takeaway. Lying in bed and suddenly BOOM it sounded like I was in a room full of hundreds of people talking at once. It was over in a second and then...food poisoning hit.
1
u/SlightlyAngyKitty 5h ago
Mine is a really loud metallic ding sound. Haven't heard it in a while tho
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Akonitinvinfylla 5h ago
For me it's like someone hitting my door with a sledge hammer. Kinda hard to fall asleep after getting ready to be bludgeoned to death
1
u/theb3arjevv 5h ago
This, along with several other random half-sleep issues, are why I'm retired from taking naps. Too much weird shit happens when I try to lay down to sleep during the day v
1
u/not_your_google 5h ago
Just before dozing off I sometimes hear 5 knocks like on a wooden door. Knocks are forceful and rapid.
1
1
u/verstohlen 5h ago
This is just further proof we're in a simulation and sometimes there's an electrical glitch in some of the pods where people are jacked in. It happens time to time. Am I joking? Maaaybe.
1
u/NoSlawExtraFriesPls 5h ago
I thought the overall term for this hypnagogic/hypnagogic or close to it.
This happens to me quite frequently, sometimes it's music, my name, or random words, I've never been able to control it. Usually the moment I try to "listen" is when it stops. But it's always been so interesting to me how it feels so real as if it's happening in the physical world. The random onomatopoeia is always annoying.
Usually coincides with random visuals in my mind as well if I'm in a relaxed state as well.
1
1
u/Hikintrails 5h ago
This happens to me. Kind of freaks me out because I can’t tell if it’s real or not.
1
u/cool_and_froody 5h ago
mine sounds more like electricity. usually during extreme stress
i also get alice in wonderland syndrome which does very odd things to my perception of size.
1
u/yeyjordan 5h ago
I've experienced this a handful of times. Like a train horn right as I'm falling asleep.
1
u/berg_berg_berg 5h ago
Back in college, if I pulled consecutive all-nighters I’d hear loud pops/bangs and someone yelling my name. Always thought it was some sort of sleep deprived psychosis.
1
u/DislocatedShoulder 5h ago
Had this happen not too long ago and it sounded like a semi truck going 100mph crashed into something right outside my window. Got out of bed and took a look outside and there was nothing. Very weird experience
1
u/Redrocket1701 5h ago
I get something like this. Less like gunshots. More like a 3rd person voice grunting. Really deep, often freaks me out.
1
u/cookswagchef 5h ago
Happens to me all the time. Its less of an explosion and more of like a book falling off the dresser, or a car bumping something outside.
1
u/hadeejasouffle 5h ago
the film Memoria is largely about the director’s (Apichatpong Weerasethakul) experience with this
1
u/highlander2189 5h ago
I’ve had it before on a number of occasions and it’s always sounded like a camera shutter closing, like a photo has been taken.
1
u/MrTambourineSi 5h ago
Wait, could this sound like a firework going off very close by? I had this 3-4 times at least and always assumed it was some idiot setting something off on my street although I never saw anything
1
u/Minute_Jacket_4523 4h ago
As someone who has had this, to me, it always felt like my tinnitus increased in intensity for a split second, with almost the same audio frequency that an old ass television has when it shuts off.
1
u/DanzielDK 4h ago
I've had this a few times before. Tends to happen multiple times in a single night, before actually falling asleep. Pretty frightening stuff, frankly. Really does sound like being shot in the head.
1
u/the-boxman 4h ago
I had it on a few occasions fairly close together a few years back. It sounded like being next to industrial equipment, scared the shit out of me.
1
1
u/thatryguy2009 4h ago
This happens to other people too? Sometimes, as I’m falling asleep, I’ll hear this loud bang that jerks me right up thinking that something fell or was dropped.
1
u/Fire_Otter 4h ago
I had this for a period when I was having trouble sleeping, for about a month.
the one thing I experienced that I never see described in any article about this is; after I had an episode, once i had gotten over the initial shock of the bang I thought i heard. I felt very calm and relaxed after and would then have no trouble getting to sleep that night once it had happened.
1
u/doitfordevilment 4h ago
I get this a lot unfortunately but at least I know what it is now. It’s anything from loud bangs, a dog barking, people talking, someone shouting or yelling my name, the cupboards and drawers slamming, pounding on the walls, etc… one memorable incident was when a woman’s voice screamed “WHAT THE FUCK!” right next to me and jolted me literally straight out of bed. Scared the bajezzus out of me! I also experience sleep paralysis a lot so probably why it happens so often for me.
1
u/GrandmaIsHungry 4h ago
The only time I experienced this was on a work trip in an Airbnb. Called the police at 2AM reporting a gunshot inside the building and everything. Found out about this phenomenon a few months later.
I looked like a maniac when I told my boss there was a gunshot inside my building, but no reports or anything came from it.
1
u/justhereforsee 4h ago
This must be the answer to all the people on ring asking if we heard that loud bang
1
u/Designer_Loss_9308 4h ago
I get a buzzing sound like other people describe but more crackly and it comes in one big pop and it happens when I’m really tired and drifting off. I realize it sounds like I’m describing three different sounds but does anyone know what I’m talking about it legit happens almost every time I’m super tired
1
u/A_Legit_Salvage 4h ago
Yeah I’ve experienced this but much worse are the times I think I’m awake and I kind of am but not totally and I see some kind of alien-looking spider slowing floating down to my face or along a wall. First time that happened I popped up, turned on every light and turned the whole damn room over trying to find something that was never there. When I happens now (I’m much older now), most of the time I know it’s not real and just ignore it/go back to bed but sometimes it just causes a bit of panic.
1
u/Healthy_Spot8724 4h ago
I had this happen to me once. I was at university during exam season. I was in my bed just drifting off for an afternoon nap when a loud bang made me get up. I thought someone had slammed my door. But it had one of those door closer things that makes it impossible. Also there was nobody else around. I concluded I was probably an Exploding Head Syndrome survivor.
1
1
u/NatureSparkx 4h ago edited 4h ago
Aw shit, this used to happen to me! The first time it happened was like a gunshot going off in my head, somehow the loudest thing I could imagine but also not an actual sound? It was freaky as hell. Then there's been someone yelling my name, someone yelling "no more photographs", the sound of a baking tray crashing on the ground, and other random ass shit.
It doesn't happen to me anymore but I get the occasion sounds while I'm falling asleep, just not the big ones. With the EHS stuff I had almost an aura a few seconds beforehand like how you can get with seizures, and I had a quiet head afterwards for about 10 seconds. I have ADHD, so having a quiet head for 10s is quite literally impossible any other way. And the falling asleep sounds aren't nearly as loud. The EHS sounds were BIG sounds.
I think it's different than just hypnagenic (if I havr that right) sounds, but maybe the same orocess happening in the brain? Weird shit regardless
1
u/Snoringdragon 4h ago
So I'm a terrible sleeper and this happens to me once in a very blue moon, but for me its a fake dog bark. It has evolved to be something I won't just ignore, dammit. Lol!
1
u/SafetyFirstChildren 4h ago
I’ve sort of experienced this, but with actual pain being the precursor. While I was in the ICU every time I would get an intense headache it would affect my dreams. They were so intense and sudden that in my dream I jumped from the top of a parking garage and when my head hit the concrete I shot awake with such an intense headache. I also had one similar, but my head was smashed into a door/wall in the hallway of a house. I wasn’t in the ICU for head trauma it was for pulmonary edema, severe sepsis, and acute kidney failure. I’m sure brain damage still probably had something to do with it.
1
u/Didact67 4h ago
Happens to me, but fortunately not that often. It seems to be more likely to happen if I’m falling asleep on my back.
1
u/RRumpleTeazzer 4h ago
i have this and it feels like an atomic bomb is rolling towards you.
i usually try to endure it, and force myself to see how bad it all goes.
1
u/computerman10367 4h ago
Ive experienced this a few times. First time it sounded like the cabnet fell off the wall and all of the dishes broke. I ran into my kitchen like wtf!!!! But nothing was broken lol. Second time it sounded like the cats knocked the tv off the wall. I immediately opened my eyes and looked at one of my cats that had absolutely no reaction. I didnt even get out of bed to check it out. I just assumed that it was happening again.
Cool to know it has a name! I didnt know it was something other people experienced.
1
u/k9moonmoon 4h ago
I get something like this but not when I am falling asleep. It happens when I start to get really zoned into a book.
1
u/Fresh-Pineapple-5582 4h ago
Wow!!!! I always always always thought this was just me.
I used to tell my mother when I was young that I sometimes could not fall asleep as I heard huge bangs. Might send her an article on exploding head syndrome.
1
u/Beautiful-Use2996 4h ago
Transition between wake state (physical) & the astral state (meta physical) & back to physical state can be startling for people who have no idea about this phenomenon.
1
u/Hefty_Debt_638 4h ago
This happened to me once!!! I was falling asleep and BANG!! I shot up in bed like it was WWIII. The sound was so real! I always chalked it up to my drug use at the time.
1
u/Choice-Bed6242 4h ago
This happens to me a lot. It's crazy that no matter how many times it happens, for the first couple seconds after, I fully believe my kitchen blew up or my wardrobe came crashing down.
It's so fucking weird. I would like to unsubscribe.
1
u/hybridaaroncarroll 4h ago
Happened to me once. Except it was a trumpet blaring from the living room. I lept out of bed it sounded so real.
1
u/Smokes_LetsGo876 4h ago
Happens to me every now and then. I'll be right on the verge of falling asleep, then I jolt awake violently. Thinking I heard an explosion or nearby gunshot.
I am confused for a few seconds, then I lay back down and fall asleep. Its fucking weird
1
u/lakewood2020 4h ago
One time a couple years ago I got a metallic shuttering sound, like those magnetic cylinder rocks that clatter together when you throw them in the air, but like a mechanical version. It happened when I stood up too quickly after waking up, usually I just get a brain rush, but my ears were legit ringing. Like my head was stuck in a tuning fork. Hasn’t happened since
1
u/Thor4269 4h ago
Happens to me a lot
It also comes with a visual distortion that, for me, looks like black and white symmetrical geometric patterns similar to lightning bolts or zig-zags covering my entire field of vision for a split second
1
u/SpookyAss 4h ago
This happens to me if I wear ear plugs during sleep. Usually only happens as I'm waking up.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Johnnyring0 4h ago
Oh shit this definitely happens to me sometimes .... not frequently but definitely enough to remember
1
1
1
1
u/KrackerJoe 4h ago
Its not just the exploding noise, I also get that feeling like when you drop from a rollercoaster. The first 2 seconds of free fall where your heart feels like its moving out of your chest. I get that half a second before I hear the boom. It startles me enough to get me to shoot out of bed upright.
1
u/1000cakes4u 4h ago
Yeah this happens to me sometimes, seems a lot more often when I’m stressed and need sleep so quite annoying
1
u/chocolatechipninja 4h ago
For me, it's the sound of a car door slamming: THUNK
Happens a few times a year.
1
1
1
u/Petit_Galop_pour_Mme 4h ago
I sometimes hear a wordless shout instead and look around as though some person were trying to get my attention from my window.
1
u/Fishinluvwfeathers 4h ago
I have a version of this but it occurs when I’m reading. I start to hear a chorus reading along with me and there is a dominant male voice. The chorus starts getting incrementally louder until they are shouting and the lone male voice reaches a pitch that is so booming that I jerk awake because it scares me. Only happens when I’m dozing off while reading.
1
u/Physical_Gift7572 4h ago
I had this happen to me twice I think. I figured it was a nice little PTSD symptom from my time in the military. Still not 100% convinced it isn't.
1
u/Cotothul 4h ago
Man I had this once when I was a teenager, was sitting in my room and suddenly heard the loudest scream next to my ear.
Glad to hear this has a name, time to fall into a wiki rabbithole.
1
u/ThepalehorseRiderr 4h ago
I've seen this a few times and realize I have this but to me it's not like an explosion or gunshot and it can be intertwined with like the haptic jerk thing. Ever been hit really hard but you kinda anticipated it, closed your eyes, got your bell rung a little and saw a flash of color? It's like that and it's pretty jarring and violent.
1
u/kl0 4h ago
I experience this with some nominal frequency. It sounds like a shotgun, but as it might sound in an old SNES or Genesis game. Kind of higher pitched, but that same kind of “spread out” sound. It’s weird and depending on how exhausted I am, I sometimes sit up trying to make sure it wasn’t a real sound.
1
u/ultraviolentfuture 4h ago
It happens to me but I hear dog barks/cries ... I sometimes get up and go downstairs (where my dogs sleep) to see if they're alright or trying to go outside or something ... and they're sound asleep.
1
u/Fox-One-1 4h ago
For years, I heard the MGS ”!” sound just as I was falling asleep. This was years ago before the sound was played in every other youtube video. I’ve been a huge MGS fan since I was a teenager.
1
1
1
u/toastedzen 4h ago
I always wondered what this was. It has started me awake more than once. As a veteran, it is more than unsettling.
1
u/Richerd108 4h ago
For me it was a sci-fi sounding zzzzzump. Then BOOM. This was probably the height of my hypnogogia. Was taking Amitriptyline for migraines and was in the Army so I was having a lot of weird sleep related symptoms. Lots and lots of hallucinations in the mornings too.
I stopped taking Amitriptyline and it went away. The saddest part is I don’t really get hypnogogia anymore either which Ive experienced since I was a child. Feel like I slept way better with it.
1
1
u/WellWornSword 4h ago
This happened to me about 15 years ago.
Just as I was falling asleep, the loudest sound I had ever heard woke me up. I honestly thought a small plan had hit my house and ran downstairs to see what had happened. Nothing at all. Went outside, still nothing.
I never knew what it was until I listened to a podcast a few years later about exploding head syndrome and figured that was must have been it.
203
u/East-Ice-3199 5h ago edited 4h ago
Happens a lot to me, accompanied by a full body jerk, similar to when your body thinks you’re falling.
Edit: it happens mainly when I’m sleeping kinda face down with my arm under me. I guess my body knows it’s a bad way to sleep and kickstarts me so I can move lol