By Canadian Press

Ear damage: P.E.I. top doctor blows the whistle on air horns at hockey games

Jan 7, 2025 | 12:56 PM

CHARLOTTETOWN — Prince Edward Island’s chief public health officer is sounding the alarm on ear-splitting air horns at hockey arenas, saying they can damage hearing.

Dr. Heather Morrison sent a letter last month to hockey associations in the province, warning about the potential harmful effects on hearing from compressed air horns often used by hockey fans in arenas.

She cites medical research indicating that compressed air horns can produce sounds at 100 decibels or higher, when sound that is considered safe is recorded at 70 decibels or below.

John Abbott, general manager of the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, says that in the past the arena had an informal policy of asking fans not to bring in air horns.

But since he received Morrison’s letter his administration has put up posters in the arena telling people the devices are officially banned.

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Keith Ford, coach for Charlottetown’s Minor Hockey Association, says he welcomes Morrison’s letter, adding that he has heard air horns in arenas during his more than 30-plus years of coaching, but not recently.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2025.

The Canadian Press