These darned cicadas.

[LouAvul]

I used to hunt without/before hearing protection.

I don't guess I'll ever get used to hearing these cicadas 24/7. Now I don't even cut the grass without muffs.

[GeronL]

Are those the ones that come out every 7 years?

[Nowhere Man]

I remember when they came though here in the Pittsburgh area back in 1985. They were so noisy and numerous that when I was driving to my senior (high school) boatride on the Gateway Clipper, we drove by a wooded area and they made such a horrible screech, my buddy and I thought it sounded like a UFO. 2002 wasn’t as bad. Getting back to 1985, I remember I could not drive anywhere without hearing them pop under my tires.

[JRandomFreeper]

On the up side, you don't have to listen to (redacted to protect myself).

Daughter now has a habit of grabbing my arm, spinning me around to face her and saying "You can damn well read my lips!"

Meh... hearing loss is God's way of giving us an end-of-life bonus. Embrace old and grumpy. ;)

/johnny

[Joe 6-pack]

They make for a pretty good stir-fry with some snow peas and a whisper of ginger...

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“I used to hunt without/before hearing protection.”

And I used to sit on cramped stages in Honky Tonks, with the drummer’s cymbals behind one ear or the other. I don’t hear cicadas, my tinnitis is much, much worse than that! I can’t hear people speak. They can’t even tell how much hearing I’ve actually lost, because the noise in my brain is louder than the test tones. I’d be very happy with cicadas!

[mkmensinger]

John Cicada:

[youngidiot]

Those things are bastards. We got a place in the country for “peace and quiet”. HA!

[rackatoot]

Are those fresh or reconstituted dried noodles?

[Joe 6-pack]

Either will work. I use reconstituted in all my cooking.

[CrazyIvan]

Mark Twain used to tell the story of his terribly hen pecked uncle who had gone deaf years ago. However, he could still hear the word “whiskey” whispered three rooms away with the doors shut.

[ken in texas]

Some people are just born with a special gift. :)

[Kirkwood]

I have a bit of tinnitus now as I get older. It is not as loud as cicadas though.

[Carriage Hill]

They’re supposed to be 13yr and 17yr cycles, but with changing natural weather patterns, those traditional 13&17 cycles aren’t holding true, anymore.

[PowderMonkey]

Things that go “BANG!” brought the cicadas for me. Damage was cumulative over many years of exposure to gun fire. Some nights it's like trying to sleep in the jungle. The insect symphony is incredible. Inexplicably, too much caffeine and stress makes it much worse.

[GeronL]

right

[workerbee]

Aw c’mon, cicadas are summer!

Other than the big “7 year” variety or whatever. Those get kind of annoying.

[NormsRevenge]

weird how they have cycles.. it’s feast or famine with finding them little noise makers.. we used to hunt ‘em down for 4-H.. trees were the best place to look.

[Grammy]

Aspirin and tylenol and Advil make the cicadas worse for me. I can always tell when I have been taking it for a while, as my ears start to scream. And yes.... it does sound like cicadas to me.

[peteyd]

Mom calls it “bacon fryin” in the pan.
Does sound like a case of chronic cicada ear.