Largest ever study of exploding head syndrome sheds light on the sufferers of this mysterious condition

Exploding head syndrome (EHS), also called episodic cranial sensory shock, is a sensory disorder characterised by the perception of a loud noise or sense of explosion in the head, usually when transitioning into or out of deep sleep. Little is known about the cause of EHS and, while it’s not dangerous, it can lead to fear, anxiety and interrupted sleep.

Back in 2017, BBCScience Focus, in collaboration with psychologists at Goldsmiths, University of London, St Mary’s College of Maryland, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Sussex, launched a survey asking readers of the magazine to share their experiences of 'HS. Nearly 7,000 of you replied with 3,286 reporting having experienced EHS episodes.

“I was delighted when the editor of BBC Science Focus Daniel Bennett, suggested this collaboration,” said

Dr Alice Gregory of Goldsmiths, University of London. “Dr Brian Sharpless led the first paper on EHS, but the dataset we collected was extremely rich and there’s more to learn.”

While 5 per cent of sufferers said they experienced EHS several times a week, most said they only experienced it occasionally – 35 per cent reported having an episode several times a year and 40 per cent having several episodes in their lifetime. Nearly 45 per cent of sufferers said they found the episodes frightening, with just over 25 per cent reporting significant levels of distress. While the cause of EHS remains unclear, 60 per cent of sufferers believed it’s due to ‘something in the brain’. Nearly 35 per cent of sufferers thought EHS was due to stress, while 7 per cent thought it was a side effect of medication. Meanwhile, 2 per cent thought that it was caused by electronic equipment and 3 per cent thought it could be caused by something supernatural.

The measures taken by sufferers to combat EHS were varied. Among them were increasing alcohol consumption (deemed to be more than 80 per cent effective), avoiding sleeping on the back (also deemed to be 80 per cent effective), going to bed earlier (50 per cent) and getting more sleep (50 per cent).

“EHS isn’t discussed very much. Consequently, people having this experience may have very little information about what’s going on,”

said Gregory. “In our study, we found that those who had experienced EHS reported poorer sleep quality and less sleep than others. In future, we’d like to understand more about these associations. For example, could disturbed sleep trigger this experience or is it that someone who

has experienced 'HS finds it more difficult to fall asleep at night?”

“7 per cent thought exploding head syndrome was a side effect of medication”