Hand dryers are 'clearly dangerous' to children's hearing, published research by a 13-year-old shows

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Business

Hand dryers are ‘clearly dangerous’ to children’s hearing, published research by a 13-year-old shows

Noise levels on several models approach that of a jackhammer, making them loud enough to hurt

By Christopher Ingraham
July 2 at 9:28 AM

My 5-year-old twins are terrified of hand dryers. ... When they enter a public restroom, the first thing they do is size up the drying options. If it’s a paper towel dispenser, they visibly relax and go about their business. But an electric dryer puts them on high alert. It’s the overpowering roar of the dryer they hate, the sudden acceleration from silence to deafening blast, the grating rasping whoosh as hands pass through the air stream.

Their reaction is a common one among small kids, as a quick perusal of websites, forums or books on parenting will tell you. But new research from the journal of the Canadian Paediatric Society confirms what toddlers have suspected all along: Restroom hand dryers really are too loud. They operate at decibel levels “that are clearly dangerous to children’s hearing.” Loud enough to hurt, and potentially damage children’s sensitive ears.

The study’s author, Nora Louise Keegan, should know: She’s 13, and her now-published paper draws on research she’s been doing since age 9, when she noticed restroom hand dryers were hurting her ears.

For her study (which notes that its data “was originally presented at the Calgary Youth Science Fair”), Keegan used a professional-grade decibel meter to compile loudness measurements of electric hand dryers at dozens of public restrooms in Alberta from 2015 to 2017. She purposefully selected “locations that children might frequent,” such as schools, parks, restaurants and malls.
....



Christopher Ingraham writes about all things data. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center. Follow https://twitter.com/_cingraham

[ginnyinWI]

1. I don't ever use them anymore.

I'm far from being a kid, but I find the noise is usually much too loud. Besides that, there is research indicating that those dryers blow minute particles of feces through the air when they are used. So much for clean hands!

I'd rather dry my hands by shaking them several times, then wiping on my pants legs, thank you. When other people are running those dryers, I try to get out quickly.

edit to add link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/04/12/hand-dryers-suck-bathroom-bacteria-and-blow-them-all-over-your-hands-study-finds/511723002/

[Blues Heron]

2. One of the worst aspects of our modern era

The removal of paper towels from public bathrooms is downright disgusting on so many levels. Aren't they recyclable?

[Blue Owl]

3. Germ circulators

n/t

[dewsgirl]

4. I know they hurt mine.

[3Hotdogs]

5. I use the big drier on the middle of my T shirt.

OSHA test for hearing damage potential --- if the noise is loud enough to make you raise your voice to be heard, it is damaging to your hearing.

[TheFarseer]

6. One of my favorite jokes

The directions on them should say, “press button, wipe hands on pants”

[dalton99a]

7. Hand dryers and leaf blowers should be outlawed.