A Simple Guide to Exploding Head Syndrome, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Exploding Head Syndrome, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

This disorder was so interesting that I had to read and write about it.

Exploding head syndrome (EHS) is a form of sleep disorder in which the patient hears a loud sound or explosive crashing sound in the head.

The sound is not real and cannot be heard by someone else.

The episode normally happens suddenly either when the patient is starting to fall asleep or when the patient wakes up during the night.

Together with the loud sound, EHS can happen along with flashes of light and muscle jerks (myoclonic jerks).

Unlike its painful-sounding name, the syndrome is painless.

EHS is a parasomnia, which is an undesired episode that happens while sleeping.

It is also termed episodic cranial sensory shocks.

Exploding head syndrome is a disorder that happens during the sleep.

The most frequent symptom is hearing a loud noise when the patient falls asleep or wakes up.

The actual cause of the sensation in patients is still not known, though speculation of possible sources is minor seizures affecting the temporal lobe or sudden shifts in middle ear components.

Some doctors believe it is a neurological issue while others think it is linked to fear and anxiety.

It could also be linked to the components of the middle ear moving during the night.

People with high stress levels or a history of other sleep disruptions appear to be at a higher risk of having exploding head syndrome.

Other possible causes are stress/anxiety, impairments in calcium signaling and brainstem neuronal dysfunction.

Some current theories about causes are:
1. A brief increase in the activity of the brain’s sensory neurons.
2. Damage or dysfunction in the inner ear structures.
3. Abnormal attention processing in the brain during the sleep-wake transition.
4. An aura that happens before a migraine.
5. Side effects from suddenly stopping selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (used for treating depression) or benzodiazepines (used to treat anxiety).

An exploding head syndrome episode normally lasts less than a second.

Signs and symptoms of exploding head syndrome (EHS) are:
1. Feeling frightened or anxious after the episode.
2. Experiencing a sudden muscle jerk at the time of the episode.
3. Having difficulty falling back to sleep.
4. Waking up sweating, having a rapid heartbeat and trouble breathing.

Criteria from the ICSD-3 to help the doctor make the diagnosis are:
1. The patient wakes up suddenly to a loud noise or an explosion in the head.
2. The episode is intense and the patient feels frightened after it
3. The patient does not feel any physical pain during or after the episode.

A polysomnogram measures brain activity during sleep such as the brain waves

Exploding head syndrome normally does not need treatment.

The doctor will assure the patient that this disorder is not dangerous or a sign of any severe disease.

If needed, the doctor may choose to prescribe a medicine used to treat other disorders:
1. The anti-seizure medicine topiramate that influence neurological activity,
2. The heart disease drug (calcium channel blocker) nifedipine,
3. Tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline and
4. A drug for obsessive-compulsive disorder, clomipramine.

One medicine that has been given to treat exploding head syndrome is clomipramine a tricyclic antidepressant

Non-pharmacological treatments such as relaxation, improved sleep hygiene and counseling may also help to relieve symptoms.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Exploding Head Syndrome
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Thunderclap Headache
Chapter 8 Migraine Headache
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Apr 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005474904

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Exploding Head Syndrome,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2022 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Exploding Head Syndrome, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Exploding Head Syndrome)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Exploding head syndrome (EHS)

What is exploding head syndrome (EHS)?

Exploding head syndrome (EHS) is a form of sleep disorder in which the patient hears a loud sound or explosive crashing sound in the head.

The sound is not genuine and cannot be heard by someone else.

The episode normally happens suddenly either when the patient is starting to fall asleep or when the patient wakes up during the night.

Together with the loud sound, EHS can happen along with flashes of light and muscle jerks (myoclonic jerks).

Dissimilar to its painful-sounding name, the syndrome is painless.

EHS is a parasomnia, which is an undesired episode that happens while sleeping.

It is also termed episodic cranial sensory shocks.

Exploding head syndrome is a disorder that happens during the sleep.

The most frequent symptom is hearing a loud noise when the patient falls asleep or wakes up.

Unlike its scary-sounding name, exploding head syndrome normally is