It's time to pay attention to how loud those toys are that you are buying for the little ones in your life. Sight & Hearing Association has released their 2016 Annual Noisy Toys List © and 17 out of 20 toys listed test louder than 85 decibels (dB), which is the threshold for mandatory hearing protection in the workplace. The top three toys, according to National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety guidelines, are so loud they could cause hearing damage within 15 minutes. Further, because children may not play with toys as recommended by the manufacturer for safe use and given their short arm length noisy toys can potentially be even more dangerous for little ones. As a reminder:
For more information please visit the Sight and Hearing website at www.sightandhearing.org.
- Test out toys. If a toy sounds too loud to you, it will also be too loud for your child.
- Avoid buying toys that have a warning that they should not be used close to the ears, as children will forget this during play.
- Put masking tape over the speaker of the toy to reduce the volume.
- Limit the amount of time that children play with loud toys to 15 minutes or less.
- Place mats or rugs under loud toys such as playing blocks as they are an efficient means of reducing noise and absorbing sound.
- Look for toys with volume controls so you can control the output.
For more information please visit the Sight and Hearing website at www.sightandhearing.org.