Australian man becomes loudest person on earth, records 122.4 dB shout

A Canberra man who spends his days cleaning air conditioners and his spare time acting as a town crier has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's loudest person after producing a staggering 122.4-decibel shout.

Joseph McGrail-Bateup, 58, from Australia's capital city, broke a record that had stood for more than three decades. His shout of the word "now" surpassed the previous mark of 121.7 decibels, set in 1994 by Northern Ireland schoolteacher Annalisa Flanagan, who famously yelled the word "quiet".

According to Guinness World Records, McGrail-Bateup's shout reached a volume comparable to a chainsaw, a nearby ambulance siren or even a jet aircraft during take-off. Speaking on Tuesday (June 23), McGrail-Bateup said the achievement was not something he could realistically train for beforehand.

"There's no way that you can actually practise for it. You have to just keep it for the day, especially with the world record attempt," he said. The record did not come without consequences. McGrail-Bateup revealed that it took seven attempts to produce the winning shout and that his voice paid the price afterwards.

"It took me seven attempts just for one word, which was the word 'now', and my voice was shot for the next couple of days as well. It was husky. It was terrible," he said. "So no, you can't really practise for it. But it's a lot of fun when you're doing it."

Despite being recognised as the world's loudest person, McGrail-Bateup said he prefers to think of himself as the loudest man, noting that Flanagan's achievement remains intact. "I'm pleased that she gets to keep her record. So she's still the loudest woman in the world and I'm the loudest male in the world," he said.