These days, it's more common to see a hand dryer in a public restroom than a stack of paper towels. Hand dryers are said to be cost-efficient and can contribute to cleaner restrooms.
However, there's a major downside to these loud dryers that we're just now learning about.
Nora Keegan is just 13-years-old but she's being credited with making a major discovery, all for her science fair project. Nora measured the decibel level of a traditional bathroom hand dryer with a sound meter to see if ear damage may be occurring to people, particularly kids who use a dryer. Nora decided to investigate after she says 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 reporters. That's about the average sound level of a rock concert!