LETTER: Protecting our ears at community parades

July 13, 2026

By Pat Dobbs

To the editor:

The Fourth of July parade this year was wonderful as always. It was filled with patriotic spirit, smiling faces, and the kind of hometown pride that makes Deer Isle so special. I love it.

There is one concern I hope will be considered for future parades and that is the repeated blasting of the fire truck’s air horns. While the fire trucks are always a welcome part of the procession and a lot of fun, the loud noise from the air horns is painfully loud. At close range they can be harmful to hearing, especially for young children whose ears are more sensitive.

Could the fire trucks instead do shorter and fewer air horns blasts? A moment of excitement should never come at the cost of protecting our hearing.

Here’s a video on the ‘silent danger of loud noises.”

- Pat Dobbs lives in Stonington and is the president of the Downeast Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America.

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