Exploding Head Syndrome

Exploding head syndrome (EHS) is classified as a sleep disorder or headache disorder. It occurs when someone falls asleep or wakes up to loud auditory hallucinations. These noises may sound like explosions or thunder and do not tend to last long, but they can still be frightening and may make it harder to sleep. There is typically no pain associated with EHS, and it doesn't lead to other conditions, so it is considered harmless. While in general EHS is a rare occurrence, some people hear the loud noises multiple times a night. Other symptoms of EHS include seeing a flash of light, feeling a tingling sensation run through the body, or suddenly feeling hot. There is currently no known cause of EHS. Lack of sleep, anxiety, stress, and medication affecting the central nervous system have been shown to trigger episodes in people with EHS. It is also possible that drinking caffeinated or alcoholic beverages at night can cause EHS. Hypnic jerks is another possibility, but the most commonly proposed cause of EHS is that the part of the brain which is responsible for the transition between awake and asleep is malfunctional. Other links between ear problems, temporal lobe seizures, nerve dysfunction, sleep position, supernatural beliefs, specific genetic changes, and EHS have been investigated, though no correlation has been established. People often go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Cutting caffeine intake and screen time can sometimes help to reduce EHS episode frequency. Improving sleep hygiene like setting a sleep schedule or working on calming your body may help. Several other treatment methods have been studied. Clomipramine, calcium channel blockers and anticonvulsants were tried as a method to alleviate EHS symptoms. In some cases, these treatments did see positive results, but those results could have been due to something else. Another possibility for reducing the occurrence of EHS is treating other sleep problems before treating EHS. A non-medical treatment route could be making sure EHS patients know the condition is generally not medically concerning.