Did you see the social media buzz about 13-year-old Nora Louise Keegan who published an article about hand dryers in Pediatrics and Child Health?

First, someone encourage this girl to get a PhD in audiology! Second, the findings of her study are interesting and very concerning. In her study, she measured sound levels of 44 hand dryers at different heights and distances and with and without a person’s hands under the air.

Some of the loudest dryers resulted in output between 100-121 dBA, and many of the loudest measurements were at the typical height of children’s ears. Ms. Keegan makes the point that these levels exceed Canada’s maximum allowable output of 100 dB for toys, and that it is not surprising that many children complain that the dryers hurt their ears.

Reference

Keegan NJ. (2019) Children who say hand dryers ‘hurt my ears’ are correct: A real-world study examining the loudness of automated hand dryers in public places. Pediatrics and Child Health.

Share this

Recent Posts

Protected: President’s Message: An Inside Look at Our Coding and Reimbursement Team

Honoring Our Service Members: Supporting Our Veterans

Academy Recommends Changes to Proposed Amendments to New York EHDI Screening Protocol

Related Posts

Hundreds of American flags planted on the lawn

Honoring Our Service Members: Supporting Our Veterans

This Memorial Day, we honor those service members who have died in military service in the United States. The day was originally called Decoration Day, so named for the tradition of decorating graves with wreaths, flowers, and flags commemorating those who have passed on. While the day was widely observed after the Civil War, and…

Read More
Aspen Trees and fall colors in the Autumn in the mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona

Exploring New Sounds with the World’s Largest Trees

What does one of the world’s largest lifeforms sound like? That was a question Ari Daniel asked on a recent National Public Radio (NPR) “All Things Considered” episode. Pando is a quaking aspen tree that has spread to cover over 80 football fields in Fishlake National Forest, Utah. While Pando may resemble a forest, what…

Read More
Low section of female teacher with smiling children reading books in library. Shutterstock Image.

Mental Health, Quality of Life, and Communication in Children Diagnosed with Hearing Loss

Based on parent and teacher report, the prevalence of mental health problems is twice to four times higher in children diagnosed with hearing loss when compared to those peers without a hearing loss. Interestingly, children who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/hh) and hard-of-hearing (HH) typically do not rate themselves as having significantly higher mental health…

Read More