A new study from UK stated that toys, which produce high noise, might lead to permanent hearing damage.

Dr. Brad Backus, a research fellow at University College London’s Ear Institute said,

‘With most toys, your child will only damage their hearing if they use them for too long a duration, or if they stick them in their ear. Our advice is pretty simple: don’t let your child hold noisy toys too close to their ear, and don’t let them play with them for more than an hour a day.’

The suggested noise level for toys is 85 decibels and constant exposure to noise above this level can cause permanent hearing damage.

Eight of the toys emitted an average of 81 to 105 decibels when held 25 centimeters from the testing microphone, roughly arm’s length for a child. Pixar Cars ‘Lightning McQueen’ emitted 82.5 decibels, while Laser Command’s noise level was 88.6 decibels.

But when held at 2.5 centimeters from the microphone, approximating the distance if the toy was held close to the ear, 14 of the toys, including Fireman Sam’s Action Jupiter and Tomy’s ‘Spin n’ Sound’ remote controlled car, had average noise levels between 84 and 115 decibels. The only toy with noise levels below the safety threshold was a VTECH cell phone for babies.

Toy guns were the worst offenders, emitting 120 to 140 decibels when held at arm’s length and 130 to 143 decibels when held close to the ear.

Backus said his ears were ringing after testing the guns and so strictly suggested people to shun them.

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