Feeling noises in my head. . .

This may sound strange but I was wonder if anyone else experiences something similiar. Nearly every night, when I laying down to try to fall asleep, I'll be startled by a noise but the noise is in my noggin. It ranges from rushing with an ending crash to popping, etc, but while this is happening, I can actually feel a sensation in the location where I'm hearing the noise. Last night, it starting in the front of my forehead and ran down each side of my head, past my ears, and sort 'out' through my neck at the base of my skull.

It sounds stranger now that I've tried to explain it but I know I'm not imagining it. It will startle the beegeebis out me. . .

I did look on-line and only came up with tinnitus but I don't feel certain that tinnitus is happening.....

Any thoughts?

I do that and it bothered me so much I couldn't stand it. I would go periods without it, then start up again. When I do it, I do it many times in a night, and for several nights in a row.

I found out from some wonderful ppl here that they're called "sleep starts". For me, it's like a firework inside my head coming from nowhere. Sometimes there's even the "pshhh" sound with it.

It helped me so much to understand because this was really bothering me. Tension/anxiety makes it worse.

I'll find a website on it.

BB.

KD

Thanks Kimmy, I feel less kooky now!

I was browsing through the 'Mayo Clinic' and found an 'Exploding Head Syndrome' that seemed a little more plausable. Then I googled that name and was reading on Wikipedia and found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome. Prettying interesting but one disclaimer made me laugh. . .

"Note that exploding head syndrome is not an example of spontaneous human combustion, nor does it otherwise involve the head actually exploding."

Yes, I read on exploding head syndrome as well...another name, I guess?

What you're describing sounds like auditory sleep starts. I get most auditory, and at times a combination of visual and auditory. I jump in a very startled state.

Here's some stuff. There's alot when you google either auditory or visual sleep starts...

Everyone experiences, at some time or another the sensory sleep start which is the body jerking, feeling like falling, etc. This is along the same lines to my understanding. When I do it, it's very yuck because I do it several times in one night then for many nights in a row.

Also known as sleep starts, hypnagogic jerk or predormital myoclonus, hypnic jerks usually consist
of a single contraction that often affects the body asymmetrically. They were first described by Mitchell
in 1890 ([7]). The jerk may be either spontaneous or induced by stimuli. Sleep starts are sometimes
associated with the subjective impression of falling, a visual sleep start (sensation of blinding light coming
from inside the eyes or head), an auditory sleep start (sloud snapping noise that seems to come from inside
the head) or a visual hypnagogic dream or hallucination. Pure sensory phenomena in the absence of a
body jerk (so-called "sensory sleep starts") can also occur. The patient may not recall a jerk that was
noted by a bedpartner if the sleep start does not cause awakening. Sleep starts are an essentially universal
component of the sleep-onset process, although they often are not recalled. A prevalence of 60% to 70%
has been reported
1
. Excessive caffeine or other stimulant intake, prior intense physical work or exercise,
and emotional stress can increase the frequency and severity of sleep starts

i "felt" them when i was coming off of effexorxr.......i'm sorry you're going through this. it really isn't very comfortable....xoxox pat

Pat's right. It's VERY uncomfortable.

I was so bothered that I made a post similar to this a few years ago and now it helps me when I have them...I understand.

I imagined almost everything wrong with my brain.

I think it was Petunia that helped me with that...thank you ma'am.

KD

I've had hypnic jerks for a long time but the sounds/sensation just started about a week ago. I'll just be dozing off and be startled awake by a noise. At first it took a few seconds to realize what was happening but I do 'feel' it. I can feel it move. I never get enought sleep, so I can understand where fatigue and stress come into play.

Thanks Kimmy and Fayerody. . .

Ok.. this is sounding very familiar to me too. I get the body jerks once in awhile , but I also get the sensations of falling too. Sometimes though those come with a dream... sometimes not. Usually if its with a dream and its the same thing all the time , I am either riding my bike or running off a cliff. So would that be a visual sleep start or not? I am still trying to grasp what is being said here . Thanks!

Hi Sweetsunshine, Those 'jerks' can be annoying, huh? I really don't have a sensation of falling but rather I hear/feel a lound noises. It can range from crashing, to a roar that starts a little low and slow and increases in intensity and its as if the noise moves or grows from one location to the next. Oh, it always happens about 20 min to 40 min when I'm laying down trying to fall asleep.

I have had the falling dream before and running, I'm always running but I can't run fast enough no matter how hard I try.

Yes, Kimmy, I was also was imagining everything wrong and you hit the nail on the head; now that I have a little understanding it puts me at ease. Heck last night, the crazy thought crossed my mind that my brain was communicating with something...

LOLOLOL

Yes they are very annoying and embarrassing when my husband is home on the weekends sleeping too. It sorta scares me at times too. And if I end up feeling like I am falling I usually end up sitting straight up in bed . I never knew what these were. Just thought I was weird or something ya know? I had asked T about it and he thought it was stress related but didnt know what exactly was the cause or anything. At least this is a start. Now I can tell him about this. He loves to read so I am sure he will want to find out more about this!! I dont hear the loud noises that I know of lol.

Thanks so much for starting this thread!!! Ite really helping me to understand this !

Oh, I understand, heart.

In trying to understand what these small explosions with sounds inside my brain were, I would try to imagine what it could be.

Also, you do it then start awake and realize all is OK...drift back off to just do it again! When I do it, I do it 5-10 times before I eventually go to sleep.

I read one explanation (neurology) that the brain is still firing and trying to shut down for sleep and our body gets ahead of it so we feel this firing still going on and that anxiety makes it worse. That makes sense to me.

It was so confounding to me because I'd never heard of another soul doing this. Of course, I'd seen others do the sensitory sleep starts...body jerking...as if falling and knew that was common. I didn't know these were along the same lines and it helped me to know.

I can only explain it as small explosions with sound, a sizzle like sound, similar to the sound you hear when you're close to professional fireworks being set and they fizzle out in the sky? That type of sound. It's so bright inside my brain, but in just a small area if that makes sense. It jerks me immediately awake. I used to scare me to death. Now it's just a jerk as I associate knowledge immediately as to what's going on and remind myself that I'll do it a few more times...lol.

KD