Something strange happened a few days ago and I thought I'd share it here.
I was lying on the sofa, on the verge of falling asleep, when I was jolted awake by a loud, clear bang. It sounded like a firecracker/gunshot and what happened fits the description of exploding head syndrome. I also had a similar experience about four years ago while lying in bed.
What's strange though is that my cat appeared to also react to the noise. She sleeps on the chair beside me and when I looked over at her, she was hunched back, ears perked up, obviously startled by something.
First thought was that it was the dodgy Chinese laptop battery I had charging, but it wasn't. It was also too clear and loud to have come from outside, even if it did, another family member would have commented on it. My other thought was that something fell of a shelf. If it did originate within my room, I cannot find the source of it.
>>17639748
Cuntinue.
>>17639752
Not really much more to say. I'd have assumed I imagined it but my cat's reaction makes me question that and not being able to find the source of the noise (if there was one) strikes me as a bit strange.
>>17639748
Auditory hallucinations, got them a few times in my life. Someone screaming my name, loud beeps or bangs. Your cat was probably startled because you were.
>>17639794
>Someone screaming my name
Something like that happened to me as well when I was a child. A voice which sounded like my uncle called out my first name very clearly.
>Your cat was probably startled because you were.
If that were the case, I'd expect her to be looking at me. She was looking at the other end of my room where the battery was charging and there's a shelf.
>>17639748
>>17639794
This. I've experienced it a few times in my life, once was even with really loud laughter. Only thing paranormal is that we have no clue what causes it.
When I miss a dose of my SSRI I get brain zaps, which I believe are related to EHS.
I had this once. It was like sk evict was banging a snare drum at the inside - front of my head.
i get this occasionally while on the verge of sleep
i hear a split second loud noise, sometimes it sounds like a voice.
i think it might be neurons firing and your brain confusing whether it should be received by your conscious mind of sub conscious
Sort of related, when I'm laying quietly in bed and I hear a sudden noise, my vision flashes a bright colour simultaneously. I think it's a little synesthesia when I'm falling asleep...
Conclusion, brains are weird. If you think about it, dreams are like strange little hallucinations and many of these phenomena take place around sleep.
One time I heard the bang dozing off. Pretty unevenful. My sleep paralysis experiences were way worse. The other day however, I swear I heard laughter, like a kid. Distant but in my head. I have a kid and it was not her because she was right in front of me. She didn't hear it.
Happened to me the night after I overdosed on phenibut. Kept coming to the verge of drifting off to sleep, and every time there would be a loud bang to wake me right up. It was like God was just fucking with me. Barely got any sleep that night and had weird hallucinations and a couple seizures I think. Shit sucked.
Not paranormal, just shitty.
>>17639831
It's what >>17639925 said that causes it. More to the point, it's thought to be old memories that randomly fire and cause these sort of hallucinations. To my knowledge psychologist aren't sure why those memories randomly fire.
>>17639748
Your cat reacted to you jolting, dumbass. Not the noise that only exists in your head.
>>17639884
>I get brain zaps
I just got to this thread because I sometimes have EHS (It's cyclical and directly related to my insomnia) but I've had the brain zaps too when I was in elementary school. It was frustrating not having anyone believe me when I said that my brain would feel like it was being electrocuted at night time.
Coincidentally, I was on Celexa (an SSRI) for a few months years after that when I was in high school, but I didn't experience any brain zaps then, and I have never since.
>>17640021
bright flashes are another symptom of EHS
I get this every few months. Usually when stressed. Happened a few days ago, actually. I'll be on the verge of sleep and then hear an extremely loud bang. This only happens at night when I sleep. I get sleep paralysis if I sleep or nap during the day, though. And only if I'm sleeping alone.
>>17639748
I used to have this. Don't worry about it and try to reduce the stress in your life, and it goes away. Beware, it might come back later to pay a visit but it usually doesn't stick around.
>>17639748
>>17639783
>>17639814
OK, I'm now convinced that the bang I heard a few days ago wasn't in my head because I just heard it again while wide awake. Even with headphones on, it was still very loud.
It felt like it originated right in front of me, as if a small firecracker exploded a few feet in front of my face, I could actually feel a slight shock wave of it. I'm also sitting in the same location my cat was staring at the other night.
Like the first time, I still can't locate the source of it.
>>17639794
I remember once a nigthmare i had when i was a kid on which i heard like many voices talking unintelligible words, and out of the blue, a loud speaking voice calls my name. After that i woke up sweaty to my dad seeing what startled me that way, and now that i think about it, i'm glad he heard me and worried.
Anyway, only time i heard something like op described
>>17643168
>>17643168
ive had this too
ive also seen a shadow person as a kid
>>17639748
I suffered from this condition throughout 2012-13 because of poor sleeping. I also experienced more regular sleep paralysis and apart from auditory hallucinations also some kind of auditory distortion. Like how sometimes when you are still asleep noises from "the awake world" enter into your dreams or sleeping world, except it was all distorted and horrible.
Nothing really paranormal about it, just try to get better sleep
>>17643207
Actually I remember one of the auditory hallucinations I heard. I thought a plane was crashing into my house, or at least near it. The noise was extremely loud and I jumped the fuck out of bed and looked out the window to find that everything was fine. I also remember sounds similar to gunshots and very low helicopters.
weird condition
>>17643220
Maybe there was a war going on in a different dimension and you tuned into some of it?
>>17643207
I assume the condition can also apply while wide awake? When I experienced it the second time a couple of hours ago, I was wide awake doing my usual routine.
>>17643372
>As far as I know the syndrome significantly related to the falling/waking state of mind. Unless you're very tired and deprived of sleep it might just be some kind of hallucination
>>17643394
ignore the greentext, sry about that
>>17643394
>some kind of hallucination
That worries me. I don't do drugs, I'm usually well rested and if I'm starting to imaging audio hallucinations this fierce, then some sort of serious brain disorder could be developing.
I'm still sort of hoping there's some other explanation other than me going mad/dying from brain cancer. Unlike what >>17641013 says, it's very unlikely that my cat reacted to me sitting up quick. I've had her for 14 years and I'm well aware of her behaviour, the only times I've seen her reach like this is if there's a loud noise or another cat about. And like I said, she was looking and had ears pointed towards the direction I heard the noise again today. The position she was in suggested she immediately turned 90 degrees from her usual sleeping position to look in that direction.
the more threads I reply to the more likely it is that I'll get a (you)
>>17643560
todays the day anon
>>17639748
Exploding Chode Syndrome
>>17639748
Idiot, the cat was startled by your response to your auditory hallucination faggot
I had this maybe 7 years ago. It was strange, but I don't know what was the reason for it. Maybe it was just your mind playing tricks on you.
>>17639748
It sounds to me like you being startled also startled the cat.
>>17639748
Holy shit this happened to me also years ago while I was meditating. I didn't know there was a name for it.
>>17639794
This. You probably scared your cate.
Heres my latest and greatest auditory hallucination story. Probably more of a dream state but whatever.
> got really drunk the night before
> constantly throughout the night im woken up by my girlfriends voice
> "anon... anon. ANON. drink some water. Its important to stay hydrated"
Sure its dumb but it was vivid af. Like I would have swore it was her actually talking into my ear, except she wasnt actually there.
>>17642939
>>17643536
I think I may have found a possible source of the sound. After turning on my monitor this morning, the screen flickered a few times and produced a noticeable electrical arcing sound while it was warming up. I'm thinking that the noise could have been capacitors exploding inside it?
Well, I have cats, and I know they don't react well to sudden movements. Maybe your jolting disturbed the cat.
there were a few letters in Fortean Times about the phenomena recently. I will try to find the issues that it was printed in. Someone wrote in saying it had happened to them, said it sounded like someone had blasted a shotgun next to their ear. Someone else wrote in to explain it, its some weird thing the brain does to some people as they are in between sleep and waking.
