Be careful Santa! Popular toys found on Noisy Toy List

You may need to keep an eye and an ear on the toys your children receive this Christmas. Whether it came from Santa or from a well-meaning family member, there are several popular children's toys on this year's Noisy Toy list.

For the last 15 years the Sight & Hearing Association and has been testing noisy children's toys to make sure they don't pose a risk to hearing. This year's testing revealed that 12 out of 20 toys tested produced sound over 100 decibels (dB).

To be considered safe, sounds should not exceed 85 dB.

Surprisingly, it wasn't until as late as 2009 that industry guidelines were developed to regulate the volume level of toys. However, experts argue the new guidelines are still too lax. As this year's Noisy Toy List demonstrates, there is clearly room for improvement.

Since most children play with there toy's at about an arm's length, or in some cases will put their ears right up to the speaker, researchers at the Sight & Hearing Association measure sound levels at the speaker of the toy and also at a distance of about 10 inches (arm's length for young child). These measurements are considered to be a more accurate reflection of real-world use.

Here's some simple tips to keep your children's hearing safe this holiday season:

 

·    Listen to a toy before you buy it. If it sounds loud to you, it's too loud for your child

·    Report a loud toy. Call the Consumer Product Safety Commission at 1-800-638-2772 or the Sight & Hearing   Association at 1-800-992-0424 or by email at ReportAToy@sightandhearing.org

·    Put masking tape over the speaker on the toy to help reduce the overall volume

·    Noise measurement Apps can be downloaded to your smartphone and can be used to estimate if the noise levels are safe.

·    Buy toys with volume controls

 

 

What our supporters are saying

The people that support our efforts can be found across the state and come from all walks of life. Here's just a few of the comments we've received:

"This is a great cause for children born with hearing problems. When not detected early and treated, a child develops special needs when they can not hear or speak. It is unfair to the child if the parents cannot afford proper care."

-Heather, from St John

"As a pediatric nurse, I experience first hand the pain and suffering children who have hearing loss, experience."

-Michele, from Wenatchee

"I was 8 when I was diagnosed with bilateral severe hearing loss. My single mother of 3 could not afford hearing aids. I was thirtysomething when I got my first pair. What a different life I would have had if I received help early. Please support our kids, they are more than worth it! "

-Kimberly from Poulsbo

"Hearing Aid coverage for children is as necessary as any other medicine or piece of medical equipment!"

-Jenae, from Rochester

"I would not have been able to work and support myself without the education I received. Learning in school is done by hearing. If you take this away from a child, your are removing their potential to learn because they cannot hear. Families with children do not have the money and may need help financially."

-Paula, from Seattle
 

"Hearing" with your eyes

We found a great post by Jane Madell at HHTM on the importance of checking vision for children with hearing loss. We sometimes get focused so much on hearing, that we can forget about how important our vision is in helping us "hear" what people say.

http://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearingandkids/2012/checking-vision-for-children-with-hearing-loss/#comment-12809

"Vision matters – even if a child is learning primarily through an auditory path. It is important to be sure we know how a child with hearing loss sees. We need to monitor hearing as well as all other developmental issues so we can be sure children are the best they can be."

Avoiding Holiday 'Hearing Fatigue'

Check out this post from Krystyann Krywko, "4 Tips to Avoid Holiday Hearing Fatigue for Kids With Hearing Loss"

http://www.chchearing.org/blog/4-tips-to-avoid-holiday-hearing-fatigue-kids-with-hearing-loss/#comment-1652

Krystyann Krywko is a writer and education researcher who specializes in hearing loss and the impact it has on children and families. She writes from a parental, as well as a personal, perspective, as her and her young son were diagnosed with hearing loss one year apart. She is the author of the e-book, Late Onset Hearing Loss: A Parent’s Perspective, and also blogs about hearing loss at lateonsethearingloss.org.

Getting out the message

Regular legislative sessions in Washington are mandated by the State Constitution and begin the second Monday in January of each year. Therefore, it has been said that writing letters to our local state Representatives and Senators can be more effective in the months of October, November and December, prior to the start of the new legislative session in January.


Those who make our laws represent us in Olympia. But how can they represent us unless we let them know what we are thinking? Writing a letter, sending an email or even a phone call can have a tremendous influence on how our legislators decide to vote.

We need your help! We ask that you please consider sending a letter or even a brief email to your local state representative about the importance of hearing aid insurance coverage for children.

Find your local WA legislator by clicking here.

Need an example? A sample letter can be found here.

 

 

About our state government:

The Washington State Legislature is made up of two houses (or chambers), the Senate and the House of Representatives. Washington has 49 legislative districts, each of which elects a Senator and two Representatives. Senators serve four-year terms and Representatives serve two-year terms. The Senate and House of Representatives meet in session each year to create new laws, change existing laws, and enact budgets for the State.

WCHAA Welcomes New Board Member

The WCHAA leadership is pleased to announce that Homira Osman has joined the WCHAA Board.

Homira is currently a doctoral student in Audiology at the University of Washington, with research emphasis in (re)habilitation for infants and children with hearing loss. Homira is also a Pediatric Audiology LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) trainee at the UW Medical Center and Center on Human Development and Disability.

What do people with hearing loss hear?

The best way to understand how hearing loss impacts a person is to listen for yourself. Hearing loss simulators can be found online. Here is a link to a hearing loss simulator that demonstrates different levels of hearing loss and how environmental sounds are perceived with different levels of hearing loss.

Please click the link to listen:
http://www.betterhearing.org/hearing_loss/hearing_loss_simulator/index.cfm