Walmart Selling Kids Earmuffs That Could Cause Burns
Walmart is selling a line of kids earmuffs that have resulted in burn and hearing injuries in young children.
This article is more than 2 years old
In America, it’s not abnormal to hear about a product’s recall. Whether it’s toys with parts that are too sharp or a contamination issue in foods or beverages, manufacturing problems happen. The latest production malfunctions have occurred at Walmart stores, recalling 31,000 pairs of earmuffs due to potential safety risks. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, these earmuffs are being confiscated, noting the possibility of burn hazards from wearing the apparel.
How dangerous can a pair of earmuffs be? These specific, Walmart-sold earmuffs are called Kid’s Hearmuffs, produced by the headphone company Lucid Audio. This type of winter gear is an upgraded version of standard earmuffs, including sound compression technology that helps diminish outside noise. The AAA alkaline batteries that are necessary for the headphones pose a potential threat to those wearing the device. According to the CPSC, the batteries included “can rupture,” which could lead to hearing or burn injuries for young kids. Due to complaints, Walmart recalled 31,000 of these earmuffs at locations nationwide.
Before the Hearmuffs were taken off shelves, Walmart received dozens of complaints about the batteries breaking while in use. Though there’s documentation that the alkaline batteries can rupture, no one has been injured from their breakage. The recall affects four different types of earmuffs in the Hearmuff series: the LA-infant-AM-WH, LA-infant-ASM-WH, LA-infant-ASM-WHPlus, and the LA-kids-AM-WH. These earmuffs are sold in various colors and have multi-mode power buttons to switch their sound functions.
Source: Lucid Audio
Walmart has instructed shoppers to refrain from purchasing Hearmuffs in stores if any remaining products are found. The retail chain also encourages those to stop using the affected headphones if they’ve already been purchased. If you have a pair of Hearmuffs in your possession, you can contact Hearing Lab Technology/Lucid Audio for replacement batteries. This means that you don’t have to dump your Hearmuffs immediately; getting a free pair of AAA batteries that aren’t defective will help restore these devices’ safety.
Alongside the Hearmuffs recall, Walmart has had several safety incidents in stores over the past couple of weeks. Just yesterday, in Allentown, Ohio, police received a call about an armed man entering a Walmart location. The cops were called at five pm last night, showing up at the store while employees were evacuating customers from the scene. The man was reported to have been pointing the gun at various customers in Walmart. Patrol officers entered the store first, cornering the armed man as he refused to leave the store.
The gunman stayed in the corner of the Allentown Walmart until investigators arrived on the scene at seven pm. The incident finally ended with the man surrendering to the police after an hour of refusing to evacuate. After he was taken into custody, the gunman was transported to the Mercy Health-Saint Rita hospital for a mental evaluation. Luckily, the customers and employees of Walmart were able to leave the premises without being maimed or injured. Currently, the case remains under the jurisdiction of the Lima Police Department, which hasn’t released the gunman’s name or motives for threatening local shoppers.
