But the 120-decibel cry of the cicadas (normal human speech is somewhere in the region of 65) being heard across Orange in the evenings serves a couple of practical purposes.

Cicadas sing in chorus to make it harder for a predator to locate an individual, a sort of safety-in-numbers approach.

VIDEO: Is this the world’s loudest cicada?

The males’ muscles create a clicking sound which resonates in the large cavity of their abdomen, one that makes them extremely noisy and, apparently, helps them find a mate.

Their song is unique to each species, a fact which is recognised by the females so they don't waste time cuddling up to the wrong type.

So why aren’t they deafened by their own shrillness?

Cicada hearing apparatus consists of a pair of large mirror-like membranes called tympana. These are connected to an auditory organ by a short tendon

 Interestingly, humans also have small tendons in our middle ear to dampen our speech.

It's an example where two very different species have evolved similar solutions to solve similar problems.