Exploding Head Syndrome

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Classification according to ICD-10
G47 sleep disorders
G47.8 Other sleep disorders
ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019)

The exploding head syndrome (EHS) is a condition in which a loud person falling asleep or waking hears noises and / or an explosive feeling has. In addition to noise, some people report fear and flashes of light. Classified as a parasomnia in the 2005 International Classification of Sleep Disorders , it is an exceptional type of auditory hallucination in that it only occurs in people who are not fully awake.

Neither the cause nor the mechanism of the Exploding Head Syndrome is known. So far there is also no statistical statement on the prevalence of EHS. One study has shown that EHS is very common in young people. Almost a fifth of the students surveyed said they had suffered from EHS at least once. For some it was so bad that it affected their lives significantly. The study also found that almost a third of people who suffered from EHS also experienced sleep paralysis regardless of EHS .

So far, there has not been a study that examined a successful therapy. Few case reports have been published to date in which a small number of people were treated with clomipramine , flunarizine , nifedipine , topiramate , carbamazepine , Ritalin, and / or parenting and sedation.

Silas Weir Mitchell was the first to describe Exploding Head Syndrome in 1876. However, this term was not introduced until 1920 by the Welsh physician and psychiatrist Robert Armstrong-Jones . The first detailed description was in 1989 by John MS Pearce .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Brian A. Sharpless: Exploding head syndrome . In: Sleep Medicine Reviews . 18, No. 6, December 2014, pp. 489-493. doi : 10.1016 / j.smrv.2014.03.001 . PMID 24703829 .
  2. ^ A b A. Frese, O. Summ, S. Evers: Exploding head syndrome: Six new cases and review of the literature . In: Cephalalgia . 34, No. 10, June 6, 2014, pp. 823-827. doi : 10.1177 / 0333102414536059 . PMID 24907167 .
  3. ^ Jan Dirk Blom: A Dictionary of Hallucinations . Springer Science & Business Media, December 8, 2009, ISBN 9781441912237 .
  4. ↑ Andrew J. Larner, Alasdair J. Coles, Neil J. Scolding, Roger A. Barker: AZ of Neurological Practice: A Guide to Clinical Neurology . Springer Science & Business Media, January 19, 2011, ISBN 9781848829947 .
  5. ↑ Michael J. Thorpy: Classification of Sleep Disorders . In: Neurotherapeutics . 9, No. 4, October 1, 2012, pp. 687-701. doi : 10.1007 / s13311-012-0145-6 . PMID 22976557 . PMC 3480567 (free full text).
  6. ↑ a b Blom JD. Auditory hallucinations. Handb Clin Neurol. 2015; 129: 433-55. Review. PMID 25726283
  7. ↑ a b Sharpless BA Exploding head syndrome is common in college students. J Sleep Res. March 13, 2015 PMID 25773787
  8. ↑ Eric Sorensen: 'Exploding head syndrome' affects more young than thought . Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved November 2015.
  9. ↑ Thorpy MJ, Plazzi G: The Parasomnias and Other Sleep-Related Movement Disorders . Cambridge University Press, 2010, ISBN 0-521-11157-9 , p. 231 ( Accessed March 18, 2011).