Each year, the Minneapolis, MN. not-for-profit organization, Sight and Hearing Association (SHA), checks some of the most popular toys to determine whether or not they are loud enough to cause hearing loss. People with the SHA work their way through toy aisles to find toys that seem to be too loud. When they identify a toy they feel may be too loud, they take it to their offices for testing. They measure sound at two increments.  One directly on the speaker and another 10 inches from the speaker; a realistic distance many children will be when playing with a toy. Some of the tested found toys to be as loud as 114dB which is comparable to a live rock concert.

The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety has set a limit of only 85dB for no longer than 8 hours before hearing loss can occur. When you consider that hearing loss can be cumulative, even toys with lower decibel ranges can cause hearing loss. How many hours on average do your kids play with their favorite toys?
Consequently, you may wonder why toy makers are not more stringently regulated. The answer is a poorly thought out safety standard. Toys must meet the requirement set by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). The standard states that the sound pressure level by a given toy can’t exceed 85 dB at 50 cm (around 20 inches). The problem is that most kids will hold their toy much closer than 50cm, and they will do so for hours on end. This is to say that although a toy has met the standard set by the ASTM, it still may be unsafe for your child.

  If you feel you may have a toy that is too loud and you cannot simply turn the volume down, I’ve found that covering the speaker with tape is very effective. For a list of toys this year that have already been found to be too loud, please visit our website.