Merry Xmas and here's a toy to damage your kid's hearing!

The charity Deafness Research UK tested 15 toys for sale this Christmas and found out that 14 of them could damage your child's hearing. From BBC:

The most noisy toys were found to be toy guns, including a mechanical toy machine gun, a plastic tommy gun and a cap gun.

They had the potential to cause serious damage to a child's hearing and could cause instant hearing loss, the researchers said.

Other toys tested included bestsellers such as Pixar Cars 'Lightening McQueen', Fireman Sam's Action Jupiter and Tomy's 'Spin n'Sound' remote-controlled car...

Researcher Dr Brad Backus said: "Children's toys clearly have the potential to do harm to their hearing so it's important that people are aware of the dangers and what to do about them.

"With most of the toys we tested, apart from the guns, there is a potential for harm but they're safe if used sensibly.

"With most toys, your child will only damage their hearing if they use them too often and for too long a duration, or if they stick them in their ear."

Dr Backus said parents should ensure that their children did not hold noisy toys too close to their ear, or let them play with them for more than an hour a day.

You can click on the BBC link for the list of all the toys tested and the average noise level they produce.