Health & beauty

Noisy toys

Updated: 05 Dec 2008

Introduction

Tin drums may be out of fashion, but other noisy toys on shop shelves can damage children's hearing.

Brief intense noise from toys can damage a child's hearing without their knowing it. And the hearing loss is permanent. So it's up to parents and other adults to make sure kids aren't exposed to noise which could damage their hearing.

That includes being careful about the type of toys we buy our kids. We tested the noise level of 21 toys - and 3 failed the standard.

What we tested

We worked on this test with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. Initially we screened around 200 toys for noise; we then selected 21 for full laboratory testing to the children's toys standard (AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2002).

The toys ranged in price from $2 to $80. They included hand-held toys, table-top or floor toys, rattles, squeeze toys, and toys held close to the ear.

The standard recommends different maximum-noise levels depending on how the toy is meant to be used. For instance, a toy normally used on the floor can be louder than one that's held to the ear.

Because the human ear perceives sound in a distinct way, we tested the toys for their maximum sound level and also as heard by humans.

What damages our hearing?

Our hearing can be damaged by brief exposure to intense noises or by long exposure to less-intense noises.

Sound is created by rapid changes in air pressure. These changes cause our eardrums to vibrate in sympathy. The eardrum vibrations are linked to the cochlear deep inside our inner ears, which contain minute hairs linked to nerve cells that tell our brain we are hearing something.

If those minute hairs are vibrated too much by loud sound, they become damaged. And from then on - for the rest of our lives - we can't hear as well.

What we found

The current standard recommends a maximum limit of 85dBA (decibels) for rattles and 92dBA for toys held close to the ear (like toy phones). As a comparison, vacuum cleaners are 60 to 75dBA at a distance of one metre, and electric chainsaws put out around 100dBA.

So some toys can be quite loud even if they comply with the standard. This may change in the future (see "Changing rules" below).

Of the 21 toys tested, three failed the standard. A further two - depending on how they were used - could produce sound levels above the recommended levels. That's a disappointingly high number of failures.

See the Test results table for details of all the toys tested.

Way too loud

The squeeze rubber whales (right) produced sounds over the recommended limit of 85dBA for toys in its class.

The wooden football rattle and the Fisher-Price Learning Mower were louder than 110dBA. The standard recommends toys this loud have a warning label - neither toy had one.

The Fisher-Price Talking Gadget Belt (right) has a little walkie-talkie attached. It could be classified as a hand-held toy, but it's possible a child could hold it close to their ear - like a phone. Used in this way it would be over the limit for close-to-the-ear toys.

The Playskool Poundin' Bedbugs was also over the limit if hit with the supplied hammer and was still marginal if pounded with a finger.

Two toys were recorded as loud during the initial screening. Both the Fifi Fun Phone and the Fisher-Price Learning Phone had "demo" tabs, which increase the toy's sound output in the shop. You're meant to remove this before giving the toy to a child. With the tabs in place, both phones were over the limit - but both were safe once the tabs had been removed. Make sure you remove the demo tab before giving this type of toy to a child.

Rattles and squeeze toys

A child has to squeeze or spin these sorts of toys to produce noise. Young children normally lack the strength and co-ordination to produce a loud noise, but an older child or adult could easily do this - and damage the younger child's hearing.

Changing rules

The standards committee for children's toys is considering a change to the standard. This would lower the recommended sound limits and bring them into line with the European standard. Under the proposed new rules the Fisher-Price Learning Phone would fail, even with its demo tab removed. The Project Supergun (see Test results) would also fail.

Test results

Guide to the table

Our test was funded by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and carried out by an independent laboratory in New Zealand. Models are in alphabetical order within categories.

A = failed when held close to ear.
Price is the retail price we paid.

Our view

The 3 toys that failed the AS/NZS standard should be withdrawn from sale.
Noisy toys can permanently damage children's hearing - and so we support lowering the recommended sound levels for toys and bringing these into line with the European standard.
Children can't tell if a toy is too noisy, so parents and other adults need to monitor toy noise. Don't let older children play with noisy toys near infants. And don't let your child play with noise-making toys in toy stores.

Buying tips

Buying for infants under 18 months? Don't buy a toy that's noisier than a washing machine or dishwasher - and avoid buying toys that can be put close to the ear.
For children over 18 months don't buy a toy that's noisier than a coffee grinder. And be wary of toys that can be put close to the ear.