Topiramate responsive exploding head syndrome

Abstract

Exploding head syndrome is a rare phenomenon but can be a significant disruption to quality of life. We describe a 39-year-old female with symptoms of a loud bang and buzz at sleep onset for 3 years. EEG monitoring confirmed these events occurred in transition from stage 1 sleep. This patient reported improvement in intensity of events with topiramate medication. Based on these results, topiramate may be an alternative method to reduce the intensity of events in exploding head syndrome.