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Exploding Head Syndrome (Hypnagogic Noises)

I think I have read before about loud bangs in people's heads waking them up, on here somewhere before. It was put down to the bones in your head settling down or something. I've had that a few times, and the falling sensation incorporated in some of my most horrifying nightmares!

But I wondered if anyone can help me with this? Do peoples heads ever literally explode during normal flight on planes? Or have people's eyes ever exploded or popped out? I'm sure everyone has had the terrible ear pressure problem during plane flights. But a few years ago, I had the most frightening plane experience. I was certain my eyes were going explode! The pain was excruciating, I was sure it was the pressure, it started quite mild and got stronger and stronger and stronger. I just had to cover my eyes up, as I was sure they were going to end up all over the place, it lasted for about a very long :? 5 minutes. Then it was gone, I was sure I would have burst blood vessels or something in my eyes to show for the intense pain, but there was nothing at all. At the time I was wearing gas permeable contact lenses, and thought after maybe that was something to do with it? But had never had the problem on other flights. Anyone?
 
zekesparkle said:
Or have people's eyes ever exploded or popped out?
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Yeah, eyes can easily fall out. Some reports have said that even small knocks can pop an eyeball out. They go back in, but you don't always get your vision back.
Don't know about exploding eyes, though. I suppose it could happen, but I've never heard of it.
 
The head itself wouldn't explode even in hard vacuum, the skull is too strong. I suspect that the eyeballs wouldn't either they're quite tough.

You can could do yourself serious lung damage by trying to hold your breathe in a vacuum.
 
Re: Head Explosions

Johnnyboy said:
I've also experienced falling and floating sensations whilst on the edge of sleep
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Last night I was almost falling asleep then I heard a muffled scream coming from my wife (please omit the predictable jokes :? ). I was a bit irritated because I was wide awake now. She explained: "I dreamt that I was sliding down a small hill".

I doubt whether eyes would explode in low pressure. I remember the experiment the "Mythbusters" did with "exploding breast implants". It was totally impossible to make them explode. I guess that eyes have that same consistency. (Remember "Un chien andalou" by Salvador Dali ?)

However I have a friend who is a low+loud sound freak - he builds gigantic speakers - and he says that with the right loudspeakers+music you can get blurry vision. This is caused by your eyeballs resonating to the low frequencies.
 
I posted the following a while ago about a frightening dream I have occasionally.

I once had a stuffed dinosaur-shaped animal my mom had made from some scraps of cloth. I slept with it for years but eventually stopped when I started working. Eventually mummy threw it away.
I dreamt one night that I had been bought one of those icky rubber toys that grow when you wet them. It kept on growing and growing until it was almost as tall as the house. It was shaped like a dinosaur and roared and roared. I ran upstairs but it followed me and when my mom came out of her room it bent down and swallowed her whole. I screamed and then woke up - very distressed.
Years later, last year actually, I dreamt the same monster toy again. It roared horribly and once again I was very afraid for my family. I don't clearly remember what happened in that dream but it culminated with the dinosaur roaring in my ear, getting louder and louder until i couldn't stand it. It seemed my head would burst, but instead i woke up with a terrible tension headache and tight neck muscles.
I often wonder whether these dreams have some significance. I just hope I never have one again.
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The loud noise in people's heads sounds a lot like the roar I hear at the end of the dream. It's reassuring to know that others have experienced something similar, and I'm not necessarily cracking up after all.[/url]
 
I rad Dana's post (directly above mine) and I am reminded of something. I used to have a repeating dream that would only happen when I had the flu. Had something to do with my tounge in my mouth because you can still feel that while you sleep. Well anyways, this dream always made me focus on just my tounge, and when you do that everything can seem very disproportionate. All my sizes were off, everything I could see was the wrong size and that was followed with a ringing in the ears and it was awful. I still get that dream if I have the flu.

ANYWAYS, I analyzed that dream so much that I was able to see a very vivid connection to how I feel when I'm sick and dreaming, and an Out of Body Experience. I still see this connection very clearly. The state of mind I'm brought to in a nightmarish type dream is the same as the state of mind just before an OBE only minus the fear. Therfor, I propose that when you're body is in a poor state (that of when you are sick) that you are more likely to have an OBE because of your subconcious need to 'get away' from what you're dealing with (the sickness). Theres my 2 pennies.
 
I often experience a flashbulb like effect(brilliant white flash) accompanied by electrical zapping sound when I am about to fall asleep. Wakes me up every time.
 
eccentric said:
I often experience a flashbulb like effect(brilliant white flash) accompanied by electrical zapping sound when I am about to fall asleep. Wakes me up every time.
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I get the exact same thing. It took me the longest time to find other people who got the same thing. my family and friends all thought I had gone mad. Only online did I find other reports of that which was comforting at the time.
 
OK, this has never happened to me (so it technically is not a true IHTM. However, this news article states that it is fairly common. I've never heard of this and have never spoken with anyone to whom this has happened. Has it happened to you? Have you ever experienced Exploding Head Syndrome? Sounds horrible and frightening. Maybe just weird.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...ep-waking-bang-sounds-exploding-head-syndrome
 
Yes, this has happenened to me a number of times, but it's not that terrible - at least IMO it's not (others might feel differently). Mainly it's like being woken up by the sound of an explosion that was not perceived physically, with the eardrums, but "mentally" instead.

It seems to be more common with those who experience sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is the more harrowing of the two - again, IMO.
 
Keep waking with a bang? Sounds like exploding head syndrome
If you ever find yourself being jolted back to consciousness by the sound of your own noggin erupting, don’t worry – 20% of the population are just as weird
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I have all sorts of sleep problems - not sleeping when I want to, sleeping when I don't want to, but not EHS!
 
Ulalume said:
Yes, this has happenened to me a number of times, but it's not that terrible - at least IMO it's not (others might feel differently). Mainly it's like being woken up by the sound of an explosion that was not perceived physically, with the eardrums, but "mentally" instead.

It seems to be more common with those who experience sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is the more harrowing of the two - again, IMO.
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Thanks for the reply. Really, I've never heard of this.

But what do they mean by 'exploding'? I have been awakened by what I thought was a noise (like a door slam) only to find that there had been no noise. Is it louder (mentally or otherwise) than a door slam? Is it like being roughly shaken awake? I'm just trying to get my head around this experience. It seems like it might be one of those 'you had to be there' sort of events.
 
poozler said:
Thanks for the reply. Really, I've never heard of this.

But what do they mean by 'exploding'? I have been awakened by what I thought was a noise (like a door slam) only to find that there had been no noise. Is it louder (mentally or otherwise) than a door slam? Is it like being roughly shaken awake? I'm just trying to get my head around this experience. It seems like it might be one of those 'you had to be there' sort of events.
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I would say it's probably on par with the door-slamming effect, but with more of a "boomy" feeling, rather than the sharp crack of a door slam. Hope that makes some sense - describing mental phenomenona is always tricky!
 
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I watched Scanners on the horror channel last night!

Seriously, I used to get this when I was recovering from my serious car accident (see curious car crash thread), but thankfully it doesn't happen any more. I put it down to the concussion/whiplash.
 
I have the loud bang, and i also get pain with it as well sometimes, it isnt like a normal headache tho, and it happens very rarely. Do any of you who get this also have tinnitus?
 
Mines a ringing and changes tone as well, wonder if it is connected
 
I've had it. It doesn't feel like an explosion it sounds like it and its almost as if the echo is contained inside your skull.
 
It makes me jump, but it is the pain that bothers me, it is like the inside of my head is badly bruised, sort of, difficult to describe
 
I've experienced this on 2 or 3 occasions, but my head is still intact.
 
Shady said:
It makes me jump, but it is the pain that bothers me, it is like the inside of my head is badly bruised, sort of, difficult to describe
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If you have a headache afterwards, I'd recommend getting it checked. You might have high blood pressure.
 
I do
Mythopoeika said:
If you have a headache afterwards, I'd recommend getting it checked. You might have high blood pressure.
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I did and i have :p But it doesnt feel like a normal one, its weird, my head feels sensitive
 
Yup, that went outta order with your sneaky beastie posting :p
 
It came underneath your quoted post of mine when it should have gone above that, i was busy writing that when you quoted my post
 
OK... nothing 'sneaky', then.
 
its almost as if the echo is contained inside your skull
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I don't know if you're meaning the same sort of thing, but a few years back I suffered from constant chronic migraine for a long time, I don't recall being woken by a bang although I did have a lot of sleep disturbances.

One thing that sticks in my mind is that one time I heard this weird voice in my head, can't describe how it sounded really because I don't think anything could sound like that, closest maybe is if someone taught a t-rex to talk with an electronic voicebox, the really freaky part was that the migraine actually vibrated with the voice.

Is that the sort of thing you mean?
 
Hmm, I've been woken like this a few times, although infrequently. Also someone by shouting 'HEY!!' or blowing a loud staccatto note on a trumpet - apparently - right down my earhole. These were probably just your common or garden ghosts, however.

Other than that, so pain, no brains on duvet. Yet. I've always assumed the explanation for the BANG! variety was a fragment of a dream, or real external sounds such a car backfiring (it does still happen), foxy knocking over a wheelie bin, or other random nocturnal racket.
 
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