In big earthquakes, you hear the sound before it hits.
I heard the Sylmar earthquake in 1971, it was a 6.8.
A huge roar then the getting smacked around for a bit.
Back in the mid 90’s we had a 5+ here in the Puget Sound region.
I heard it before I felt it.
A 5 is not enough to do any real damage, but it sure as heck will get your sweat glands pumping!
My wife was totally freaked...
I was in a 7.5 in Mexico City in 1957. The shaking was violent like being on a fast moving NY subway train, but there was no sound except the telephone wires strung along poles overhead that were slapping together as the poles swayed from side to side about 15 degrees to each side.
It was 1:30 am and I was walking home from a party with a friend. I staggered and said, “But I only had 2 drinks.” Then my friend (from California) said “earthquake,” grabbed my hand and we ran to the center of the intersection away from the buildings, poles and wires. We had to cling to each other to keep from falling over. It lasted about a minute.