Winter 2010 Newsletter

For sale: toys that make noise
SHA releases annual Noisy Toys List

It's official: The loudest toy we've tested to date, which could cause immediate hearing loss, also happens to be a toy geared for safety. Hmmm.

The Sight & Hearing Association, in its annual trek down the toy aisle to test sound levels for its Noisy Toys Study, found seven toys that create racket equivalent to a chainsaw in the ear canal.

The toy topping this year's Noisy Toys List is the Bell Riderz Block Blaster, a child's bike horn that literally blasts out at 129.2 decibels (dBA). That is loud enough to cause immediate hearing damage. Second on the list at 119.5 dB(A) is Cars Shake 'N Go Ramone, a toy recommended for ages three to seven. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), it would take less than a minute of exposure time at this level to risk hearing damage.

This year, the Sight & Hearing Association and researchers at the University of Minnesota found and tested 18 toys.

Three of the toys, Bruin Lights & Sounds Fire Truck, Bruin Mini Kitchen and Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Phone, made our list of "Ear-Friendly " toys, since their sound level was less than 85 dB at the speaker of the toy.

Sounds that are 85 dB or louder can permanently damage hearing. The louder the sound, the less time it takes to cause damage. For example, a sound at 85 dB may take as long as eight hours to cause permanent damage, while a sound at 100 dB can start damaging hair cells after only 15 minutes of exposure. According to NIOSH, part of the Centers for Disease Control, the permissible exposure time (the amount of time you should listen) is cut in half with every three decibels over 85 dB.

For the past 12 years, SHA has studied the noise levels of toys, testing them at distances simulating how a child might hold the toy — directly near the ear (0 inches) and at arm's length (10 inches).

Heather Nelson, M.D., of the University of Minnesota's department of otolaryngology, tested the toys in a sound-proof acoustic chamber, and said, "I?could not believe how loud some of the toys were, especially the hand-held toys!"

So why are too-loud toys allowed on toy-store shelves? Toy manufacturers are not required to follow any guidelines regarding the sound level of toys, and they aren't obligated to list a toy's sound level on its packaging. Six years ago, the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) adopted an acoustic standard (ASTM F963) that states a hand-held, table-top, or crib toy should not exceed 90 dB at 25 cm (e.g. about 10 inches) from the surface of the toy. Compliance with the standard is voluntary.

To view the 2010 Noisy Toys List, click here.

What should you do about noisy toys? The Sight & Hearing Association offers the following tips: -Listen to a toy before you buy it. If it sounds loud to you, it's too loud for your child. -Control the volume. Look for toys with on/off switches and volume control. (Some of the toys on our list had volume controls, but the highest setting was dangerously loud.) If a toy is loud, place clear packing tape over the speaker of the toy. This will help reduce the volume. -Report a loud toy. Call the Consumer Product Safety Commission at (800) 638-2772. The Sight & Hearing Association has set up a special e-mail address, ReportAToy@sightandhearing.org, for you to report those too-loud toys.

Screening detects amblyopia, saves a child's vision

Denise Venus had no idea her 4-year-old daughter, Mikayla, was having vision problems until a screening by the Sight & Hearing Association.

Turns out, Mikayla has amblyopia, a vision condition in which one eye has poor eyesight while the other eye sees well. It is a condition that is not easily detected without a screening or eye exam.

The Sight & Hearing association screened Mikayla last spring at the Goddard School, where she attended preschool. When Denise saw the referral, she was shocked.

"I even asked her teacher, 'Have you noticed any problems?'" Denise explained. "I made an appointment at Northwest Eye Clinic, and once we were there, it was very apparent when they covered her eye that the vision in her right eye was measurably different."

Mikayla couldn't read several of the lines on the eye chart with her right eye that she read with her left eye. Her vision was 20/60 in her right eye and 20/20 in her left.

"It was unbelievable. There was no evidence looking at her that she had anything wrong; she didn't have a lazy eye," Denise recalled. "We are so lucky you caught it when you did. It's just fabulous."

Amblyopia, commonly called lazy eye, is the most common cause of vision problems in children and begins during infancy and early childhood. If left untreated, the brain learns to "turn off" vision to the weak eye, which can lead to severe visual disability in the affected eye, including legal blindness. However, if detected and treated before age 8 or 9, vision can be corrected.

Mikayla picked out her new glasses: pink Barbie frames. And, until recently, she has had to wear a patch over her strong eye 15 hours every week, to force the weak eye to work. At her recent check-up, her corrected vision was 20/25.

Now a kindergartner, Mikayla loves to look at books, run around with her friends in the backyard, color and make jewelry. Denise says Mikayla's teacher made such a big deal when she met Mikayla, telling her how cute she was in her glasses.

"I have told many parents and friends about our story," Denise said. "It's one thing to have your child squinting or showing signs of vision problems. With what she has it would not have been detected. Pediatric tests are just not as thorough as [Sight & Hearing's] screening. We are just extremely grateful. By the time she's 8 or 9, she may not even need her glasses anymore, but without the screening, by 8 or 9 it would've been too late to correct."