For what it's worth, here's what I found on exploding head syndrome:
From the Detroit Free Press website
'Exploding Head Syndrome' Harmless
Imagine drifting off to sleep only to be roused into a sudden panic by a
cataclysmic noise erupting inside your head.
The condition is known as "exploding head syndrome," and people who have been
affected by it describe the sound as a violent explosion or an enormous roar
"so loud it could kill me." Dr. Joel Saper described the unusual condition
last year in a column in the Detroit Free Press.
Don't expect your personal physician to have heard about this phenomenon. It
was only reported for the first time by a British physician in 1988. Since
then, only a handful of papers have appeared in the medical literature, most
of them small collections of case reports.
There's some evidence, however, that exploding head syndrome is far more
common than the scanty printed reports suggest. For example, after his column
appeared, Dr. Saper reports that he received "numerous letters from readers
who have experienced one or more of these episodes and who have been living
in fear." A follow-up report shares some of the personal comments from those
with the condition.
The medical evidence to date suggests that exploding head syndrome occurs
most often when falling asleep. Flashes of light or difficulty breathing
often accompany attacks, which occur sporadically and at any age. Stress may
contribute to the episodes, which usually disappear without any treatment.
Although alarming, the explosions don't appear to be symptoms of a stroke or
other life-threatening conditions. Electroencephalographic recordings of
actual attacks show unusual activity in some sufferers but not in others.
However, the brain recordings show that attacks are not a form of epileptic
seizure.
Follow-up
Readers write in about noises in their heads
January 23, 2001
JOEL SAPER
MY COLUMN PUBLISHED OCT. 24 WAS titled: "Noises in the Head Are Scary But
Harmless." It addressed the topic of exploding head syndrome, a benign
condition that causes a loud and often frightening explosive sound in one's
head. The episodes generally occur during sleep.
I've received numerous letters from readers who have experienced one or more
of these episodes and who have been living in fear.
The letters provided some interesting observations that I would like to
share.
D.B. from Northville wrote: "(It) felt like I was hit in the head with a
2-by-4 and occurred when I was taking a very large dose of vitamin A." D.B.
stated that the events stopped when vitamin A was discontinued and said a
friend had a similar experience while taking vitamin A.
G.G. from Walled Lake wrote that she had experienced these episodes for 10
years and that no doctor had made a proper diagnosis. She expressed gratitude
and said she no longer felt that she was "crazy."
E.R., 72, from Hillman stated that she has had several episodes of exploding
head syndrome and believed that she was experiencing a stroke. She said that
much of the stress she has had in the past year was the result of her fear
regarding these episodes.
E.D. from Southfield wrote that the column described exactly what she has
been experiencing and that she had been told by a physician that she was
hallucinating.
L.O. from Redford described the event as occurring 3 years ago just after she
fell asleep. L.O. said that her event occurred the night after she flew from
Nevada to Detroit. L.O. raised the possibility that her eustachian tubes
might have been involved.
And finally, H.H. from Oscoda wrote: "What a relief. I thought I would be
diagnosed with a brain tumor or something like that.... I thought it was a
gunshot."
Because so little has been written in the medical literature about this
disturbance, these observations by our readers are helpful. I would very much
appreciate any additional observations that readers might share with me
regarding this syndrome.
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