An 18-year-old student from Zhejiang, China recently developed hearing problems after spending four continuous hours in a mountain area dense with cicada chirping; after being sent to the hospital, he was diagnosed with 'noise-induced high-frequency hearing loss.' The doctor said that the maximum volume of cicada group chirping can reach 90 to 95 decibels, which is equivalent to the noise level of a sustained power drill.
This student, surnamed Yang, recently went camping in the mountains during summer break, where the cicada chirping was extremely dense. Unexpectedly, after staying about four hours, he felt a fullness in both ears and could no longer clearly hear high-pitched tones on his mobile phone or similar sounds.
After being promptly sent to the hospital and undergoing treatment with neurotrophic and microcirculation-improving medications, Mr. Yang's hearing has basically recovered.
The doctor explained that cicada chirping is a high-frequency noise, with sound waves concentrated in the 3000 to 8000 hertz frequency band, directly impacting the delicate hair cells in the cochlea responsible for sensing high-frequency sounds. A single cicada's call is about 70 decibels, but group cicada chirping can exceed the safety line of 85 decibels, with peak values reaching 90 to 95 decibels, equivalent to the sustained noise of a power drill.
The doctor stated that prolonged exposure to the sound of grouped cicada chirping can easily cause fatigue and death of inner ear hair cells. Temporary hearing fatigue caused by short-term exposure can mostly recover on its own, but if it progresses to hair cell death, the hearing damage will be irreversible.