A boy becomes deaf from the noise of cicadas.

An 18-year-old boy named Wang went camping in a forest in China and was surrounded by the loud clicking sounds of many cicadas for several hours. Around noon, the noise got louder, but he stayed until evening. Later, he started to hear ringing in his ears and felt pressure inside them. He also couldn’t hear birds or his phone’s notification sounds. Worried about losing his hearing, he went to the hospital. Doctors found his ears were swollen and gave him medicine to reduce the swelling. They told him to avoid loud noises for two weeks. After resting, his hearing got better.

A doctor explained that many people think natural sounds are safe, but loud noises from many cicadas together can be harmful. One cicada’s sound is usually not loud enough to cause damage, but when hundreds click together, the noise can be louder than 85 decibels, which can hurt your ears. Loud noise can cause swelling in tiny hair cells inside the ear, but if the damage is not too bad, the cells can heal after rest. However, if the cells die, the hearing loss can be permanent, and the person might need hearing aids.