This 13-year-old wanted to help fellow kids stay safe from the possible noise damage.
Can hand dryers damage kids' hearing?
Thirteen-year-old Nora Keegan measured the decibel level of a traditional hand dryer with a sound meter to see if damage may be occurring to people, particularly kids who stand even with a dryer. Nora decided to investigate after she said she noticed ringing in her own ears after using a dryer.
So what did she find?
"Many hand dryers are always above 110 decibels," Nora told Inside Edition. That's about the average sound level of a rock concert.
According to the National Institute of Health, repeated exposure to any sound 85 decibels or higher can be dangerous to the ears. The loudest hay dryer Nora tested was 120 decibels.
"Any amount of seconds that you ear is hearing something that is higher than acceptable is causing damage," said audiologist Michelle Matyko. "Will it happen right away? Most likely not, but later on in life most Americans actually ... have hearing loss."
Nora presented her research earlier this year and said she hopes what she learned merits more investigation in the future.
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