Imagine you are at work. The Golden Retriever waiting to be finished is barking—a lot. You can hear it over the high-velocity dryer you use on a terrier mix. The radio is on. Someone is vacuuming a pile of fur from the husky that had just been groomed. A vent fan is humming along from the ceiling. Grooming can be loud. Not only individual sounds but sounds that layer one upon the other, so you don't even notice the noise level. That is, until the end of the day when the last machine is turned off and ahhhh… it's so blissfully quiet.
In the grooming environment, there are lots of potentially loud sounds. Sound intensity is measured by decibels (dB.) A gunshot is loud and measures around 140 dB. The quiet sound of a human breathing is more like 10 dB. There is a wide range of sound levels in between. How about a shop vacuum? They range between 70-80 dB.
Did you know that noise levels inside a building that kennels dogs can range around 95 to 115 decibels? That is just measuring the barking sounds.
The most significant noise source in the grooming environment is probably the oh-so-necessary high-velocity dryer. Grooming educator Barbara Bird studied the noise level of this tool and found that they can create air noise that exceeds 100 dB.
Humans can suffer hearing loss from a single exposure to a very loud sound (for example, an explosion). Still, we will more likely encounter hearing problems due to prolonged exposure to more moderate noise. Noise above 70 dB over a prolonged period can begin to cause problems.
All of this is compiled to encourage you, dear fellow groomer, to protect your delicate sense of hearing. There are a variety of tools you can use to do this. Something as simple as silicone earplugs will block a significant percentage of decibels and can be an excellent place to start. Another option is to wear noise-cancelling headphones. This headphone style dramatically reduces environmental noise but allows the wearer to listen to music, podcasts, phone calls, etc. There are a variety of earplugs and headphones designed to mute environmental sound; look around to see what might work best for you.
If you are curious about the noise level in your work environment, there's an app for that! Check out your app store for available decibel meters that you can use right on your phone or iPad.
It goes without saying that we should take steps to protect the sensitive ears of the pets we groom, too. Happy Hoodies help keep animals more comfortable while we are drying them. For added protection, you can place a cotton ball in the dog's ear canal before placing the Hoodie on, giving multiple layers of sound lessening.
As for that barking Golden Retriever? A Golden from Australia, Charlie, set the Guinness World Record for the loudest bark. How noisy is he? One hundred thirty-one ear-splitting decibels. Please. Get yourself some hearing protection.
