Auditory sleep start

[Silveryblue]

OK this is a new one on me.
Last night I was woken from sleep by a loud noise inside my head. It sounded like a plank dropping onto anther flat plank or floorboard Smak! Right between my eyes about an inch inwards. I knew it was not external noise (confirmed by my daughter next day), was not worried or alarmed at all because I knew exactly where it had come from. Just woke up & thought wow, what was THAT?

So far on the internet this seems to be an auditory sleep start (or exploding head syndrome - thanks wikipedia - just what I need) and has no concrete cause or cure. I am grateful it's not a tumour or something (fingers crossed). They just seem to come & go & don't seem to cause any damage. I am hoping it was a oncer.

Has anyone any further knowledge or leads on this?

[Mrs. Peel]

OK this is a new one on me.
Last night I was woken from sleep by a loud noise inside my head. Has anyone any further knowledge or leads on this?

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  I've had some really weird sleep experiences, and have woken up with a start many times.  Who knows where we're off "wandering" to in our dream state, plus the involuntary muscle spasms that sometimes jerk us awake can be accompanied by auditory sounds too.   

[loreta]

OK this is a new one on me.
Last night I was woken from sleep by a loud noise inside my head. Has anyone any further knowledge or leads on this?

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  I've had some really weird sleep experiences, and have woken up with a start many times.  Who knows where we're off "wandering" to in our dream state, plus the involuntary muscle spasms that sometimes jerk us awake can be accompanied by auditory sounds too.   

I agree. Me too many times noises, claps, boums, even someone calling me, like my mother or my sister (my mother is dead and my sister lives in another continent) wakes me up suddenly but I think this occurs just when I am on the border of falling asleep. Maybe these noises come from our bodies, that are like the ocean, with sounds and strange movements.

[Patrick]

Hey, Silveryblue;

I've been recording my dreams on a small device I keep near my bed, and transcribing any that occur; don't know why, really.  Anyway, I had a dream two weeks ago that is entered, in part, as this:

and I'm still trying to open my eyes properly & there are two separate tone sounds, very clear, like a bell but electric sounding and quite loud that I can hear..the same tone repeated..all the while this noise is going on and I still can't see and these tones are somewhat alarming and I wake up.

I think it's possible that if I weren't in the developing habit of waking fully enough to record, I might have just remembered the sounds in the morning; in fact, by the time I listened to the recording, the dream itself was already quite hazy though memory of the sounds (they were alarming) was clear.

Hope this is helpful.

[ScottD]

I've had similar experiences as well but sometimes it's a scream or loud popping sound that startles me awake and is usually right when I am drifting off.  I only seem to have these experiences when I am extremely exhausted or stressed and awaken in a puddle of my own drool.  As Mrs. Peel says I think it is in the same realm as a hypnic jerk (httx://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk) only auditory. 

[Aiming]

I haven't had any occurences of sound, but this reminds me that what I've been having since I was a child is some sort of clicking (?) sound in my head sometimes (whether awake or shortly before going to sleep), as if something is shifting, but I have no idea what this is about.