Exploding head syndrome is where you hear loud bangs and explosions just at the point between waking and sleeping. It can be quite unnerving to be suddenly jolted awake by the sound of someone kicking your door or a gunshot. I’ve always known it was not a real noise because although it would wake me up, it never bothered my animals.
I had no idea what it was until I read an article about it recently, and it turns out it’s quite common. So I’m just wondering, who else on here has experienced it?
Yup, can sound horribly like your house is being broken into, like a gunshot or door/window being stoved in, one of our dogs is especially protective of his home, being born here the only home he’s ever known, so like you if there was anything untoward all hell would have been let loose anyway.
I get it at times, but as you get older sleeping past your normal work related time for rising gets harder too, or at least that’s my experience.
I’m a light sleeper and fortunately have good hearing so any slight sound wakes me (inbuilt defence?), wifey sleeps really soundly and doesn’t hear a thing, whether that has any bearing i don’t know.
A really bad one a few years ago, woke up feeling like the house was moving that persisted for about 10 seconds after i awoke, later on i discovered there had been a minor earthquake some 50 miles away so that one was real 
Been woken through the night several times by someone apparently knocking on my window/door only to find no one there ■■ Having said that I live in a ground floor flat, so it’s possible the local clowns think it’s funny on their way home from where ever .
To be honest I didn’t know it was a common thing either but I have experienced it on the odd occasion.