Study: Hand dryer volume harmful to kids' ears

Newly published research finds the noise from bathroom hand dryers may be harmful to children's ears.

And the study's author can speak from personal experience.

Thirteen-year-old Nora Keegan, from Calgary, Canada, measured sound levels of hand dryers from various heights and distances, in more than 40 public bathrooms.

"Sometimes after using hand dryers my ears would start ringing," 13-year-old Nora Keegan from Calgary, Canada, told NPR. "I also noticed that children would not want to use hand dryers, and they'd be covering their ears."

She found that Xlerator hand dryers and two types of Dyson Airblade hand dryers posed the greatest threats to children's hearing, exceeding 100 decibels (the maximum allowable noise level for products/toys meant for children).

"This study suggests that many hand dryers operate at levels far louder than their manufacturers claim and at levels that are clearly dangerous to children's hearing," the study's conclusion said.

The full study can be found online.