Foundation spokesman Nigel Murphy said noise levels in early childhood centres were not being monitored and in some cases, it appeared noise was exceeding healthy levels.
The survey of 65 early childhood centres around New Zealand shows 20% of children had been affected by a high level of noise, and had demonstrated their discomfort by putting their hands over their ears or crying.
More than a third of teachers reported buzzing or ringing in their ears and hearing loss which they believed was the result of years working in noisy environments.
Another investigation of 32 early childhood education centres, by Massey University Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health senior lecturer Dr Stuart McLaren, showed a lot of children's hearing could be affected by noisy toys.
"A toy may be deemed within a reasonable range of decibels but they can still damage hearing because of the unusual methods of play. Children use toys in unexpected ways and they don't always follow the directions.
"Some toys will definitely damage young ears," he said.
His study found 75% of children and just under half of staff were exposed to dangerous levels of noise peaking at 140dB - the equivalent of a jet plane taking off.
Abbotsford Kindergarten teacher Trish Moran King said about 40 children attended her centre, situated next to the Dunedin Southern Motorway, and during some play activities the noise of the traffic was drowned out.
"We don't look forward to wet days when the kids are inside.
"The children talk over each other, so their voices get higher and higher.
"It can escalate to the point where we don't hear the motorway noise next door.
"That's the trigger. That's when we know it's too noisy."
Mrs Moran King said she was constantly monitoring noise levels in the classroom and often instructed the children to play more quietly because she was aware international research had shown children under 6 were more sensitive to noise and could sustain acute cochlear damage far easier than mature people.
In a bid to minimise noise levels, the kindergarten was selective about toys they bought for the centre, and had also put soft furnishings in the rooms, such as carpet on the walls, curtains, floor mats and cushions to help absorb some of the noise.
Mr Murphy said present legislation was not adequate to protect children and teachers in early childhood centres from the effects of noise.
As part of Deaf Awareness Week 2009 starting on Monday, he called on centres to install simple noise meters with a green, yellow and red lighting system which would immediately alert teachers and children to their noise levels so they can take action.
• Easy-to-read information cards titled Hear Here have been developed by the Hearing Association and funded by the Oticon Foundation in New Zealand. The resource pack has been launched as part of 2009 Deaf Awareness Week.
