1. A handheld measuring device, comprising: at least one locating sensor configured to locate at least one item in a measurement object, the at least one locating sensor being configured to (i) in a first operating state, emit an electromagnetic field to locate the at least one item in the measurement object, and (ii) in a second operating state, cease emitting the electromagnetic field; and a protective circuit configured to control whether the at least one locating sensor is in the first operating state based on an object parameter and an operator parameter, the protective circuit comprising: at least one object sensor configured to measure the object parameter, the object parameter indicating a distance between the at least one locating sensor and the measurement object; and at least one operator sensor configured to measure the operator parameter, the operator parameter indicating whether the handheld measuring device is currently being held by the operator, wherein the protective circuit is configured to (i) cause the at least one locating sensor to change from the first operating state to the second operating state in response to the operator parameter indicating that the handheld measuring device is no longer being held by the operator, and (ii) cause the at least one locating sensor to change from the first operating state to the second operating state in response to the object parameter indicating that the distance between the at least one locating sensor and the measurement object exceeds a predetermined distance.