By PATRICK GOWER
Giving noisy toys as Christmas gifts this year could put young children's hearing at risk, a study has found.
Many commonplace toys have been found to exceed national safety and even industrial standards in a study by Stuart McLaren, a senior lecturer in Health Sciences at Massey University.
Age-old stocking
fillers could all do more damage to a young child's hearing than to your wallet.
Mr McLaren measured the noise levels of a variety of toys after finding that a train set he brought for his 18-month old son exceeded national safety standards.
"A number of toys were just way too loud, with the worst being rattles, clackers and the air horn," he told the Herald last night. "The air horn actually caused pain - it sounded at about 130 decibels."
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has issued a warning about noisy toys, saying anything louder than a standard oven timer bell will do damage.
The ministry's guidelines say toys for children under 18 months should not be louder than 75 decibels and be kept well away from a baby's head.
For children over 18 months and even as old as 14 years, sound from a toy should not exceed 85 decibels.
By way of comparison, an average conversation measures 60 decibels, a lawnmower about 90 decibels and a cellphone set at the loudest ring around 95 decibels.
The study found that toys such as a plastic hammer, air horn, rattle, tambourine and an assortment of guns were all too loud for children under 18 months - but a toy cellphone, rock guitar or car dashboard were all safe.
"Sure, an 18-month-old child may not be able to use all of these toys themselves, but that's not to say a sibling isn't using one in close vicinity," Mr McLaren said.
He said the study - made public as part of National Deaf Awareness Week - showed how precious the hearing of little ones was.
Foundation for the Deaf executive manager Marianne Schumacher urged parents to ensure toys intended as Christmas gifts were not too noisy for their children.
Babies and very small children cannot turn away if a noise is too loud - they need our help to protect their sensitive ears," she said.
"Just as a a parent might investigate a toy to ensure that it is not a choking hazard, we recommend that parents consider whether a toy is 'hearing safe'."
