Chinese student suffers temporary hearing loss after 4 hours of cicada noise while camping
A single cicada emits a harmless 70 decibels, but a chorus can peak past 85 decibels — the threshold where permanent hearing impairment begins
An 18-year-old boy in eastern China suffered temporary hearing impairment after being exposed to the droning of cicadas for several hours.
This news garnered significant attention on social media, amassing 4.5 million views, as many believe that natural sounds are harmless to their health.
According to Shandian News, the boy, identified by his surname Yang, lives in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, and went camping in a forest in early July.
Around noon, he experienced intense cicada droning in the thick forests. Without any soundproofing equipment, Yang remained in this noisy environment for four hours.
In the evening, he felt a sensation of fullness in his ears, which were swollen. He struggled to hear high-pitched sounds, such as birds singing or alerts from his mobile phone.
Yang was later diagnosed with temporary hearing impairment due to noise exposure. His hearing returned to normal after receiving medical treatment and refraining from noise for 14 days, according to the report.