SIGHT & HEARING ASSOCIATION RELEASES ANNUAL NOISY TOYS LIST 7 out of 18 toys tested increase the risk of hearing loss in less than 15 minutes.

Saint Paul, MN – “Push my buttons and you won’t want to stop”, pleads the packaging on a cute and cuddly child’s . While you may be compelled to push those buttons, the Sight & Hearing Association (SHA) encourages consumers to be aware that those buttons they are pushing may have the potential of causing enough noise that can result in hearing loss in less than 15 minutes. SHA’s 16th Annual Noisy Toys List, reports that toy manufacturers are still producing dangerously loud toys. Of 18 toys tested this year, seven blasted above 100 decibels (dB), which can damage hearing in less than 15 minutes.

Walking through the toy aisles at various stores, SHA selects toys that appear to be too loud for consumers. Toys are brought back to their office, and a hand‐held sound level meter is used to measure the sound. Measurements are taken with the sound level meter placed directly on the speaker and 10 inches from the speaker. This year’s top toy offender is marketed for infants – The Baby Einstein Company’s Take Along Tunes, exposes babies to classical music, yet the tunes sound off at a rock concert level, with numbing crescendos peaking at 114.8 dB. According to the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, exposure to decibel levels at a close distance would cause hearing damage almost immediately. Exposure to noise levels above 85 dB for no more than eight hours is the federal threshold for hearing protection. SHA reminds consumers that hearing loss is cumulative and it typically does not happen from one event; it gradually happens over time and that is why it is important to protect hearing at a young age.

Toys are required to meet the acoustic standard set by the American Society of Testing and Materials, which states that the sound‐pressure level produced by toys shall not exceed 85 dB at 50 cm from the surface of the toy. “The problem with this standard is 50 cm is longer than the average arm length of an adult. We test toys based on how a child would play with them, not how an adult would play with them. If you watch a child playing with a noise‐producing toy, you will see them hold it close to their face, next to their ears or within their arms length, which is closer to 10 inches (25 cm)”, explains Kathy Webb, Executive Director of SHA.

Parents can do a few things to make it a little quieter this holiday season. SHA recommends testing the toy before you buy it. Webb suggests you, “push buttons and rattle toys as you walk through the toy aisle and if a toy is too loud for you, it will be too loud for your child. Look for toys that have volume controls and if you must buy a noisy toy, or your child receives a noisy toy as a gift, place clear packing tape over the speaker, it will reduce the sound level enough to make the toy ear‐safe.” The University of Minnesota/Department of Otolaryngology confirmed in a study that covering noise‐producing toys with tape or glue will significantly reduce the noise level of a toy, making it safer for children.

Founded in 1939, Minnesota‐based Sight & Hearing Association is dedicated to enabling lifetime learning by identifying preventable loss of vision and hearing. If consumers have a noisy toy to report, they can contact SHA at [email protected] or the Consumer Product Safety Commission at (800) 638‐2772.

Sight & Hearing Association’s Noisy Toys List© 2013

Toy Manufacturer Age Group Type dB(A) dB(A) of Toy 0 inches 10 inches Disney Baby Einstein/Take Along Tunes The Baby Einstein Company, LLC 3m+ hand‐held 114.8 88.1 Twister Dance Rave 8y+ floor 107.9 83.5 B. Meowsic (Piano) Maison Joseph Battat, Ltd. 2y – 6y hand‐held 106.8 87.9 Doc McStuffins – Talkin’ Check‐up Set Disney, Jr. Just Playing 3y+ floor or table 102.8 76.5 Road Rippers – Road Rockin’ Ricky™ Toy State Industrial, Ltd. 3y+ floor or table 101.2 83.8 Leap Frog® ‐ Chat & Count Smartphone Leapfrog Enterprises, Inc. 18m+ hand‐held 100.7 78.9 Fisher‐Price/Disney Planes hand‐held Shake ‘n Go!® El Chupacabra Mattel, Inc 3y – 7y or floor 100.4 84.5 Disney Baby Einstein/Discovery Drums™ The Baby Einstein Company, LLC 3m+ floor or table 95.2 74.6 Despicable Me2 – Fart Blaster Thinkaway Toys 4y+ hand‐held 93.2 77.5 Care Bears Wiggle Hugs Wonderheart™ Bear Hasbro 3y+ hand‐held 91.9 81.8 123 Sesame Street Steps to School™ ‐ Ready for School Elmo Hasbro 2y+ hand‐held 91.2 79.7 Vtech® Roll & Learn Turtle™ Vtech 9m – 36m floor 90.1 74.4 Dora Rocks: Singing Star™ Microphone Mattel, Inc. 3y+ hand‐held 89.5 78.8 ® Rescue Bots Electronic Bumblebee™ /Hasbro 3y – 7y hand‐held 89.4 75.5 Laugh & Learn – Love to Play Puppy™ Fisher‐Price/Mattel, Inc. 6m – 36m hand‐held 88.3 76.8 Marvel 3 – Arc Strike Iron Man™ Hasbro 4y+ hand‐held 88.0 74.9 Disney Planes – Soar & Learn Plane™ VTech 3y – 6y hand‐held 87.2 69.7 – Darth Maul™ Electronic Helmet Hasbro 5y+ face mask 86.4 73.7 Decibel (dB) level measurements taken with a hand‐held digital sound level meter (Digital Instruments, model SL‐814), calibrated to manufacturer’s specifications, A‐weighted scale, set at a slow response time capturing the maximum sound level. 0 inches equals the child’s ear to the toy. 10 inches equals a child’s arm length away from the toy.

Sight & Hearing Association – 1246 University Avenue W., Ste. 226, St. Paul, MN 55104 – 1/800‐992‐0424, x11 – [email protected] Founded in 1939, the Sight & Hearing Association is dedicated to enabling lifetime learning by identifying preventable loss of vision and hearing.