The Mouth That Roared: Canadian Snores Way to Top
A British Columbian snorer said Monday that he has been guaranteed a place in the next edition of the Guinness Book of World Records--unless a louder rival crops up before August.
In testing at the University of British Columbia’s sleep disorder clinic, Mark Hebbard’s snoring registered a shattering 90 decibels--20 decibels higher than that rated as safe for the workplace in British Colombia.
“I was only 10 decibels below a garbage truck and a rock band and 20 below a power saw,” he said in an interview at his home in Richmond, a Vancouver suburb.
After his record-setting performance, Hebbard underwent surgery to correct a tiny opening in his throat--a partial source of his snoring. He was also found to have sleep apnea, a disorder that causes people to temporarily stop breathing before drawing in air with explosive snorts.
His wife, Carol, said the operation was successful but that she had lost partial hearing in her right ear after 15 years with Mark.
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