HLAA Downeast Chapter in Maine is under the umbrella of the national organization of Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) which is located in Bethesda, Maryland.
The purpose and objective of the HLAA Downeast Chapter is to educate all Mainers about the causes, nature, and complications of hearing loss and what can be done to better cope with that loss. We hold four to five meetings a year at which we may have guest speakers on a variety of topics relating to hearing loss. At meetings everyone can share their experiences coping with hearing loss.
Officers:
President – Pat Dobbs, Deer Isle
Pat started to lose her hearing when she was 19. Through the years her hearing steadily declined and today proudly wears bilateral cochlear implants. Her biggest challenge however wasn’t her hearing loss … It was that she was ashamed of it and jokingly refers to those days as being a “professional bluffer”. Luckily she learned about HLAA and got the support she needed as well as getting certified by Gauladett’s Peer Mentoring Program. . She started NJ’s HLAA Morris County Chapter, where she developed workshops and presentations. When she moved to Maine, together with Margaret, founded our Maine chapter.
Vice-President –Vacant
Treasurer – Margaret Myatt, Kennebunkport
Margaret has been wearing hearing aids for 47 years, staring when she was 30. Her hearing has degraded over the years and felt isolated. She wanted to find a support group. Through the miracle of the Internet she found HLAA Central Ma and she describes that discovery as a lifetime milestone. She met people who understood her frustrations and she learned how to cope and how the make life better with hearing loss. After retirement, Margaret moved to Maine in 2020 and helped Pat Dobbs build the new HLAA Downeast chapter.
Webmaster, Secretary – Thomas F Watson III, Swanville
Thomas is passionate and talented with technology. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in History from Northeastern University. Shortly after graduation he got his first hearing aid – hearing was an early challenge in his adult life. That said, he thrived in a 25 year career at Meditech, a programming and database corporation for medical software. During Covid, noticing that Zoom had no captions, Thomas began advocating for captions, assistive devices, and communication technology for people with hearing loss. HLAA Downeast is lucky to have Thomas’s commitment and passion for supporting people with hearing loss.
We look forward to expanding our in – person meetings as Covid restrictrions subside. Because Maine is a big state, we will be augmenting our offerings with Zoom/Google Meet online meetings.
Meeting topics include accessibility, hearing aids, legislation, cochlear implants, tinnitus, captioning, assistive devices, state services, coping tips, and many more topics!
Before the HLAA Downeast Chapter began, many of our hard-of-hearing members felt isolated and found communication a struggle.
We provide a place to find answers, ask new questions, and meet people who understand. We also provide resources for information and friendship.
To be placed on the email distribution list for notices and other important announcements from HLAA Downeast Chapter, email us at hearinglossmaine@gmail.com . We do not share your email with anyone. Period. Please consider signing up.
