Tests on 17 of the most popular toys that kids want this year found that the loudest item was the High School Musical Rockerz Jammin Guitar, which registered 106 decibels on a laboratory sound meter when measured one inch away from the speaker, the University of California, Irvine said Friday.

   UCI researcher Jeff Carroll told The Orange County (Calif.) Register the guitar was as loud as a power mower or a power saw. Other toys at or higher than 100 decibels included the Cheetah Girls In Concert Collection Doll, Hannah Montana In Concert Collection Doll, Vtech V. Smile Baby, CAT Motorized Dump Truck and Tickle Me Elmo.
Carroll said all the toys are safe when used as directed but children often need to be reminded about appropriate use.

   Last year, UCI researchers reported that MP3 players can cause permanent hearing loss when played too long at high volumes. Some music players now come equipped with parental volume controls, the newspaper said.

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