I have earing loss from being too close to strikes. They rattle you.We get rolling thunder with the temperature changes. If I see lightning at all though I am running into the house or a chicken coop. I've been within 50 feet of 2 direct strikes...that's as close as I ever wanna get. So bright, loud, explosive & I practically jumped out of my skin. I was unscathed though, other than the nervous breakdown factor, lol. The 2 trees didn't fare out so well.