Cicadas (6 Viewers)

[CajunInVA]

Full. Doing a flip-flop. Start at Harper’s Ferry, WV and go north to Mt Katahdin in Maine. Then fly back down to Harper’s Ferry and go South to Springer Mountain in Georgia. Expect it to take me 6 months , give or take a couple weeks.

I was kind of wondering what your strategy was. I thought I had read that May was kind of a late start that could put you in Maine a little late in the season. Good luck and hope you enjoy the experience.

 

[Eeyore]

I haven't seen a single cicada yet. Maybe the rain is slowing them down?

 

[Optimus Prime]

High-pitched whining. A shrill buzzing. A cacophony of clicking.


For some autistic people, cicadas’ mating calls aren’t just an interesting anomaly or slightly annoying background noise — they can actually be painful.

Sensory sensitivities are common in those with autism, many of whom seem to be particularly sensitive to sound and have a reduced tolerance for loud noises.


And cicadas can get infamously loud, especially when they emerge in enormous groups known as a brood. Some have been recorded at sound levels of over 100 decibels, which is louder than the sounds of traffic or a lawn mower.

Already this year, dozens residents of South Carolina recently called the police in an alarmed response to the noise of recently hatched cicadas in the area.


Prudence Stansbury, 31, still remembers the impact the sound of cicadas had on her son Zayn, 9, who has sensory processing disorder. In 2021, a large brood of cicadas emerged where they live in Middletown, Ohio, and at first, Zayn thought the big bugs were cool. But then, they got louder.

“Getting him from the house to the car was a panic-inducing issue for him,” Stansbury said. “He would cry, he would cover his ears and he would just be hyperventilating.”


In addition to using noise-canceling headphones and limiting outdoor activities, Stansbury and her partner found that humming together or listening to music or helped Zayn calm down when he felt overwhelmed — especially any music with heavy bass sounds.

But even with these techniques and even when they were inside, Stansbury said her son still seemed on edge until the cicadas disappeared.


“It was so hard,” she said. “It’s one of those things as a mother where you feel horrible because there’s only so much you can do.”……

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/05/09/cicada-sound-autism-sensory-processing-disorder/

 

[Sailorsaint]

The cicada bit starts at 7:24 mark...