I had exploding head syndrome for about two years, looking back on it now it
was a bit like cessation and, like you describe, it (almost) always happened at night as I lay meditating. It's for this reason only that I'm inclined to say that it may not have been a fruition. Then again, it could well have been if you're practice has been strong before (I've read your thread on the HP too) and certain things you describe here suggest to me that you've got some skills[1].
If you don't mind, could you describe whether or not you were aware of anything during this period of "nothing"?
Also, have you noticed anything qualitative different about your current experience vs. previous experience?
I don't really know how the criteria lines up if we're using the MCTB/Mahasi noting vs. sutta-jhana approach, which appears to be the way you've been practicing lately, when we're talking 1st path here. To me, 1st path means you can get fruition every time you sit, having access to the 8 jhanas and all the cool easter egg stuff that comes with landing stream entry so that's what I tend to use if I've giving someone my opinion. Hopefully E.I.S. could chime in and offer an opinion 'cause he's the sutta-method dude right now and knows his stuff.
Whatever happens, keep up practice and have fun!
[1]
Doing this, I sometimes (but regularly) get strange visual ripples and blips, like movement in stationary object. These visual ripples weren't stable, as their appearance was enough to knock me out of whatever mental state I was in (excitement, confusion: "wtf was that!"), so they're difficult for me to characterize or describe these since I haven't so far been able to investigate them.
For about three or four years prior to getting stream entry I could see things in this way by just concentrating on them, even now I can make it happen at will and see solid objects becoming flickering, pulsating forms, still identifiable as the object but perceived as vibrations. I had absolutely no idea what the fuck it was until I got into insight training but they're just vibrations, then can be investigated further and, as far as I can tell, being able to perceive them is a good sign.