The December holiday season is long gone, but the war zone of a playroom in my house serves as a reminder of all the gifts the grandparents so happily shared with our children. During the end of last year, the organization Deafness Research UK released the results of a study by Dr. Brad Backus of UCL’s Ear Institute in London. The study investigated the potential hazards that certain toys might pose to children. According to the researchers, “Children's toys clearly have the potential to do harm to their hearing so it's important that people are aware of the dangers and what to do about them. With most toys, your child will only damage their hearing if they use them too often and for too long a duration, or if they stick them in their ear.”
This is not new information, but it re-educates parents at a critical time of the year when they are filling their carts with gifts. I’ve always questioned the possibility of dangerous sound levels from several of my sons’ favorite toys. My wife and I have also spent time (on a regular basis) reminding them to not put certain louder toys close to their ears. We’ve even gone as far as taking certain "acoustic offenders" away for concern of potential harm. But it wasn’t until recently I decided to pull out a simple sound level meter from Radio Shack to see what some of the toys were capable of.
One of the favorite toys in the house is a Sesame Street toy. When buttons are pushed, a character pops up and a quick song is played from a small speaker. At a distance of approximately 12 inches (the distance of “normal” play for an infant), a level of 86 dBA was noted on repeated measures. A distance of 1 inch (holding the toy directly near the ear), a level of 103 dBA was recorded.
Another toy I decided to measure is a battery-powered figure eight race track from the movie “Cars”. At a distance of 12 inches, the sound level was on the order of 84 dBA. Closer, 88 dBA. Any time a sound exposure reaches a level of 85 dBA, there is potential for hearing damage. Keep in mind, a level of 85 dBA is considered safe for a duration of time longer than most children will play with the offending toys. But, a level of 103 dBA has the potential to cause hearing damage in a very short period of time. These measures were not performed in a laboratory, or with a highly calibrated sound level meter but this small experiment did serve to illustrate the potential of certain toys found in most toy rooms.
ASHA, the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, offers the following guidelines: Prior to purchasing a new toy, parents should listen to the toy. If it sounds too loud, it should not be purchased. Toys already at home should also be examined. Batteries can be removed or toys discarded if they are too noisy and pose a potential danger to hearing.



