Loud Bang Sound Waking Me Up — Exploding Head Syndrome?

[CrystalB]

Alright so I have noticed a loud bang sound that wakes me up in the middle of the night. I've had it happen a couple of times, it sounds like someone breaking in or turning stuff over! I'll be dead asleep and all of a sudden I'll hear it and it wakes me up, I'll get up and start looking around thinking something has fallen, I know it's not anyone because I'm here alone.

It's kind of starting to worry me, why am I hearing this sound that's not even there?

I've been looking on the internet about it and there is a condition called exploding head syndrome! What a name, right? It says it's common.

Anyone else experience anything like this?

 

[PDodge]

I've had it on and off before tinnitus, sounds like breaking glass or some other weird sound. It doesn't usually wake me up but as I'm drifting off it happens - I take it as a good sign that I'm falling asleep.

 

[Deamon22]

Yeah happens also to me sometimes, like @PDodge as I am drifting off.

 

[AZeurotuner]

Yeah happens also to me sometimes, like @PDodge as I am drifting off.

Same here. I remember dosing off one night and being woken up to what I believed (at the time) was either an explosion or a gunshot. I immediately got on the ground and began checking myself for wounds. Once I determined that the noise likely came from my head, I was worried that I might have popped some sort of blood vessel or something. A quick Google search confirmed "exploding head syndrome", what a bizarre phenomenon.

 

[Starthrower]

Same here except I call it the very loud door bell sound. And the door bell did not happen at 3:00 am. The sound would wake me up in a startle. I could swear it was the door bell but the sound was in my head and not outside my head.

In the beginning stages of my tinnitus sometimes I would be almost asleep and a very loud tone inside my brain would literally knock me out of bed. That was just after the damage done to my jaw bone so I attribute that to nerve damage issues.

 

[CrystalB]

I hate you guys have it also, I just didn't know if it was just me experiencing this. I guess this started after tinnitus maybe, but I can't remember. It just feels so weird.

I know something that's weird too and I know it's my brain, when I'm half asleep or trying to wake up, I'll see like a spider crawling across the bed or on the wall, I've even jumped because of it or I can't even get up or try to wake up, I've seen that sleep paralysis causes that.

 

[Starthrower]

Oh I had sleep paralysis once and it was so scary. That was years ago though before tinnitus. It never happened again. But I remember not being able to move.

I had fallen asleep on a sofa in a weird position.

 

[AZeurotuner]

Oh I had sleep paralysis once and it was so scary. That was years ago though before tinnitus. It never happened again. But I remember not being able to move.

I had fallen asleep on a sofa in a weird position.

I've had sleep paralysis as well. The first time it was my whole body, and second it has just my right side. It's hard to emphasize how scary this is to folks who have never experienced it before. Even more so when you're by yourself and wonder whether or not you're just going to lay there, paralyzed, and slowly starve to death.

 

[JohnAdams]

Alright so I have noticed a loud bang sound that wakes me up in the middle of the night. I've had it happen a couple of times, it sounds like someone breaking in or turning stuff over! I'll be dead asleep and all of a sudden I'll hear it and it wakes me up, I'll get up and start looking around thinking something has fallen, I know it's not anyone because I'm here alone.

It's kind of starting to worry me, why am I hearing this sound that's not even there?

I've been looking on the internet about it and there is a condition called exploding head syndrome! What a name, right? It says it's common.

Anyone else experience anything like this?

I've heard that a few times and sometimes it sounded like a man yelling.

 

[Contrast]

this most likely is a tinnitus spike or something the audiotory brain is doing.

Hilarious now we have another problem. (though I have never experienced this)

 

[lapidus]

I've gotten this sometimes too just when I'm about to drift into sleep. Sometimes it sounds like a gunshot and sometimes it's this weird electrical ZAP!-sound. Not sure if it has anything to do with tinnitus since people without tinnitus also experience this from time to time. Maybe it's some kind of auditory hallucination? It's similiar to the feeling you sometimes get before falling into sleep where it feels like you's falling down from something and wake up in panic mood.
https://www.sleep.org/articles/hypnic-jerks/

 

[JohnAdams]

(though I have never experienced this)

don't knock it til you've tried it. A+ meme in MPP by the way.

 

[PDodge]

I think its separate from T.

 

[CrystalB]

this most likely is a tinnitus spike or something the audiotory brain is doing.

Hilarious now we have another problem. (though I have never experienced this)

I was thinking that today, I really don't want to deal with this also, lol but so far it doesn't happen every night.

 

[hurtingdream]

I thought it was just me. Sometimes it happens when I am drifting off to sleep. It's so scary.

 

[Gman]

Sure they couldn't be real sounds too? I always wake up because of sounds. The rational part of my brain says they're random, like cracking etc. due to temperature variations, but the irrational side says not. Yes, I've watched too many horror movies - Crawlspace (1986) comes to mind...

 

[another sean]

It's happened to me before as well, but only when I'm dozing off. Not when totally asleep.

 

[CrystalB]

It's happened to me before as well, but only when I'm dozing off. Not when totally asleep.

I'm usually sound asleep and I just wake up out of the blue when I hear it, it's taken it a few times to happen for me to realize what it could be. I've always thought something had fallen or maybe an animal trying to get underneath my house or something.

 

[Gman]

I had a bright flash (in my head) the other night as I was going to sleep. I know it was not external as I had a sleep mask on. It seems to be linked to exploding head syndrome.

 

[CrystalB]

I had a bright flash (in my head) the other night as I was going to sleep. I know it was not external as I had a sleep mask on. It seems to be linked to exploding head syndrome.

Wow, I've not had that yet I don't believe, the brain can mess with you so much!

 

[Elmer B Fuddled]

What you are experiencing is one side of the brain is trying to relax and bring sleep while the other side wants to remain alert. What happens is like crossing wires. Some experience a loud bang some say it's like cymbals clashing or guns going off. It's Bening and harmless and usually it goes away. I had it and it was a loud bang. 6 months of it then it just went away. It had no effect on mt tinnitus.

 

[JohnAdams]

I had a bright flash (in my head) the other night as I was going to sleep. I know it was not external as I had a sleep mask on. It seems to be linked to exploding head syndrome.

I was having that too, most of the time it was just little tiny blinks of light. Sometimes It was as if someone turned the lights on in the room but I'd open my eyes and it would be darker in the room than inside my head. Very strange.

 

[Jcb]

This is crazy! I don't think I've heard any random noises but I do see strange flashes of light when I close my eyes to try to sleep. They only last a few seceonds then disappear, sometimes they look like little bolts of lightning as well.
Had my eyes tested a few times and no issues, It's so strange man.....

 

[Elmer B Fuddled]

This is crazy! I don't think I've heard any random noises but I do see strange flashes of light when I close my eyes to try to sleep. They only last a few seceonds then disappear, sometimes they look like little bolts of lightning as well.
Had my eyes tested a few times and no issues, It's so strange man.....

Yep people have said that also like a small lightning flash again its not to worry over.

 

[Jcb]

Yep people have said that also like a small lightning flash again its not to worry over.

I hope so, it just amazes me that since I've gotten T, floaters and these wierd flashes have come along for the ride.

 

[Elmer B Fuddled]

I hope so, it just amazes me that since I've gotten T, floaters and these wierd flashes have come along for the ride.

Your not alone on floaters I have them seems almost a natural going on. I found being stressed makes floaters appear more plus making tinnitus spike. I'd say stay calm and relax, yeah maybe a hundred years ago that may have worked not today everything is hectic.

 

[Helheim]

Oh this happens to me sometimes. It's usually when I'm extremely stressed, like to the point of not being able to function at work levels of stressed. It really sucks, especially since sleep can already be hard with T.

 

[Rajin]

This happens to me - not when I'm sound asleep but only when drifting to sleep. I heard it's called anxiety startle reaction.

 

[Audiophile_bg]

Just had the first instance of this last night.

 

[Vicki14]

Anyone else experience anything like this?

Hey, yes! Mine has woken me up too which sounds like a gun shot! x