Signs you could have terrifying disorder ‘exploding head syndrome’

From snoring, to teeth grinding, sleep apnoea and restless leg syndrome, there are all kinds of ailments that can commonly affect people at night.

But have you ever heard of exploding head syndrome?

Yeah, sounds terrifying, doesn't it?

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If you've ever woken up to the sound of a huge bang - whether it's someone knocking on the door or something toppling over downstairs - you'll know how scary and disorientating it is.

So imagine it happening regularly, and the 'bang' is actually inside your own head.

Yep, this is what people have to endure when they suffer from exploding head syndrome.

What is exploding head syndrome?

The Sleep Foundation explains that it often occurs when you go to bed, more specifically during the transition between being asleep and being awake.

While the symptoms of the condition are brief, it can impact sufferers in other ways once they're awake.

The condition - EHS for short - is a parasomnia sleep disorder and presents itself as sounds and sensations that make people believe they are hearing a loud explosion.

While the episodes only last a few seconds, and are not usually painful, they can cause anxiety for the person suffering.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of the condition include hearing loud noises or sensations that mimic an explosion; experiencing these during the transition between sleep and being awake and feeling arousal and anxiety after an episode.

The condition is not harmful, but can be unpleasant for sufferers who regularly face high levels of anxiety over the episodes happening, and the fear of them happening again.

What causes exploding head syndrome?

EHS has not been widely studied but based on the research that is available, the condition occurs more commonly in women - with an average age of 58.

However, reports range from people aged between 10 and 80 so it can pretty much happen to anyone.

It's not clear if there is a correlation between the number of episodes and environmental factors, but stress and tiredness have been suggested to impact frequency - as with many sleep disorders.

There's a strong link between EHS and insomnia, but the Sleep Foundation explains that more research is needed in this area.

It must be pretty terrifying to experience, with almost half of sufferers experiencing 'significant fear' upon waking.

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Treatment options

There are no distinctive tests to diagnose EHS, with doctors diagnosing based on symptoms and history.

As the condition isn't usually a sign of anything more serious, EHS doesn't usually require treatment through medication.

You can find more information on EHS here.