For those who wonder what all the fuss is about re: the coming cicadas

[dixiegrrrrl]

They are LOUD! A wall of unrelenting sound.
and high pitched
like having ringing in your ears constantly at high volume.

Here's 2 examples,slightly different sounds ( they have variations in the rhythm of noise)

Imagine hearing this 24 hours a day for a few weeks in the hot summer.
Inside the house dims but does not block the sound.

[USALiberal]

1. Well, not much you can do about it! Nt

[Glorfindel]

2. They have been "singing" here for the past week to 10 days

They don't sing at night. They start out quietly, and gradually get louder and louder as the day progresses and more and more join in the chorus. They are VERY loud just now, but being inside and running the air conditioning drowns them out. I quite like to hear them. I first remember hearing them in 1957, when I was 11 years old. It must have been a different brood, because the 17-year cycle doesn't work 1957 - 2021, but I remember it distinctly, as my niece was born that year.

[hlthe2b]

3. Okay... But most cicada species are around every year. The sound might be slightly less dramatic

as with the species that have 13 or 17-year cyclical swarms, but I've heard it every year that I spent camping, at the lake, or even hiking near dusk--since childhood.

To me, it is a comforting outdoor "white noise." I suppose in urban areas it would be more unexpected.

[Shrike47]

4. Sounds like my tinnitus but lower pitched.

[Warpy]

5. I didn't like them indoors

just like I hate having a cricket indoors. I tend to evict them ASAP.

I don't mind either sound coming from outdoors. In fact, one of my nicest memories was in my teens, walking down a dirt path between a couple of fields in rural NC on a full moon night, listening to them sing.

I'd already learned they weren't destructive, they just emerged to scream for sex, mate, lay eggs, and die, giving the birds a huge banquet at the same time.

[Wingus Dingus]

6. I always associate them with August, right before we went back to school

where I grew up in Pennsylvania. The sound of summer drawing to a close.

[SYFROYH]

7. Sounds of my summer youth.

[chowder66]

11. +1

[Pisces]

8. Sounds like summer to me.

[RegularJam]

9. Every year when growing up the sounds of the locust would...

Take over our neighborhood. No escaping it. The noise penetrated the house. Like my horrible tinnitus, it became a part of life for a short period.

[Tree-Hugger]

10. Not 24 hours

It's very rare for them to sing at night. Most species of cicadas quiet down once the sun sets. They do their screaming during the daylight, but they tend to have lulls here and there.

I live in an area that's had cicadas every summer for my entire life. We haven't seen any signs of Brood X so far, but they should pop out soon. I adore the sound and find it very comforting. I have many auditory problems, but cicada and other summer bug sounds (Katydids, crickets, etc.) are my favorite.