Children risk damage to their hearing or even immediate loss of hearing from toys widely available this Christmas, research from a charity for the deaf warns.

Deafness Research UK tested a range of toys and found that 14 out of 15 produced noise levels above the recommended safety limit when held close to the ear. Half had levels above or very near recommended safety limits even when held nine inches away.

The charity warned parents to be on their guard, particularly when buying toy guns, which it said could cause serious damage or instant hearing loss. It urged them not to let their children hold noisy toys too close to their ears or play with them for more than an hour every day.

Brad Backus from University College London's Ear Institute tested 15 noise-emitting toys, aimed at children aged from three months to 15 years. All are available to buy this Christmas, and they include bestsellers and products for the pre-school market, including Pixar Cars' Lightning McQueen, Fireman Sam's Friction Jupiter and Tomy's Spin'n'Sound remote-controlled car. Of the 15, only one - a VTech mobile phone for babies - was found to have a noise level below the safety threshold.

A toy machine gun, a plastic tommy gun and a cap gun all had noise levels above recommended limits, and the potential to cause instant hearing loss.

Dr Backus said even his own ears had been ringing for a while after the testing. "Our advice is pretty simple: don't let your child hold noisy toys too close to their ear and don't let them play with them for more than an hour a day."

Tomy has issued a statement refuting the study, pointing out it had an independent safety certificate showing compliance with European acoustics requirements. "The Tomy Spin'n'Sound toy is not intended to be played with close to the ear so these sound level limits do not apply."