Creepypastas

Exploding Head Syndrome

Identifying Exploding Head Syndrome (EHS)

An uncommon phenomenon that causes a person–usually female–to suffer from sudden, loud, and unexplainable noises right on the verge of sleep.

Noises which are jarring and can sound like the popping of fireworks, gunshots, the bang of slamming doors, and even loud explosions. In some cases, violent screaming or sobbing is heard.

The most exceptional thing to note about the sleep disorder that is EHS, is that noises do not occur within the head. Sounds are out of body and can be heard anywhere up to a block away by both ears.

Although very little is known, psychiatrists speculate that EHS occurs when certain synapses in the brain fire off rather than settle down.

What synapses and why, however, is still unknown.

No one has proven this theory to be true however, and doctors aren't even sure where to begin looking–let alone find an actual cure or remedy.

Many subjects have claimed that a little rest and relaxation can help, but EHS never truly leaves those afflicted–and those with insomnia experience it much worse. Some claiming to see flashes of light, even short bursts of unexplainable pain along with the noises.

In extreme cases, EHS can develop into a more serious mental illness.

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When I was a kid, maybe ten or eleven years old, I began hearing things right at the verge of sleep. You know that point I'm talking about? Where you're still semiconscious and things are fuzzy, but you're aware? That state.

I'd be moments from drifting off to dreamland when BAM this horrible loud noise would startle me awake. For the life of me, I can't really explain to you what the noise was like...what I could relate it too, but it was loud and it scared the shit out of me.

For the first few months, it happened maybe once or twice a week. I couldn't really explain it, and I was terrified of bringing it up to my mother because I didn't know if she would believe me. I was an imaginative kid after all. So I kept to myself right up until I got into my teens.

I remember those nights.

Sometimes, I didn't even get any sleep.

Time after time, just as my exhausted brain would begin to drift, BAM! And again I'd be wide awake, full of terror and paranoia.

Occasionally, on particularly bad nights, I'd hear other things. High-pitched noises...like screaming...it's the only thing I can think of to relate it to.

The final straw was the night I kept hearing the banging. It was aggressive. I was so out of it that I didn't even need to close my eyes. I was constantly in that semi-conscious state, trapped with those damned noises, when finally, I saw a bright light flash through my room.

It lit every nook and cranny. Like a flash bang. It made my skin hurt just being near it even though it was there and gone in less than a second. It woke my ass up completely and I didn't sleep at all that night. I didn't even try.

So I finally told my mom. I couldn't take it anymore. It had gotten to the point that I was failing every class because I was dozing off constantly. I was lethargic, exhausted, and it felt like my brain had begun to shut down. I felt like I was going insane.

She didn't believe me at first and I don't blame her. I wouldn't have believed me either. She hadn't heard any of the noises I told her about and the fact that I had heard them was even more strange to her. Why did I experience it when she and dad didn't? My inability to describe the sounds didn't help either.