I've been wondering about this for a while... The new styles of high-powered hand dryers in public toilets - they're really noisy - are they likely to cause hearing damage?
Depends.
How much time do you spend in public toilets?
And is your head at waist height?
You're supposed to put your hands in......
Where there is blame..............
I am sure that Dyson will have tested the noise level v exposure time.
Pardon?
https://www.intelligenthanddryers.com/blog/what-decibel-level-should-a-quiet-hand-dryer-have
It is loud - if it was a working environment it would be too loud I'd imagine - so if it was your job to stand in front of a machine that loud you'd need to be supplied with ear defenders. I doubt its an issue for the general public unless you suffer from something like tinetus. Problematic for cleaning staff / attendants though.
In a question of exposure though stuff like the dyson work in half the time of other machines - there are a few machines about that are just as loud (and higher up the wall) that need to be on for ages and still don't really function well
This is up there with getting blinded by a Parcel Force delivery guy
[i]I've been wondering about this for a while..[/i]
Busy then?
75dB at 1 mtr
70 dB(A) at 1 Meter
56dBA at 1 metre
[ Noise ]: 72DB
I just looked at some figures 😀 = the airblade type is quieter than a <£20 job that doesn't dry your hands.
It's an interesting subject, but I'm moving on now.
That's funny!
The Dyson ones are loud, but some of the other ones (maybe the Xcelerator in Cougar's link) seem worse. It doesn't help that they're often positioned in a corner of a tiled room. Plus sticking your hands under them alters the 'shape' of the wind blast, and can generate some high pitched noises. I just think that compared with some other noises you'd go out of your way to avoid, they seem uncomfortably loud.