Volunteer awarded MBE in King’s Birthday Honours list

A charity volunteer has been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours for her services to the deaf and hearing-impaired community.

Merleen Watson, a longstanding volunteer for our charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, which trains life-changing assistance dogs and provides emotional and practical support services to people with hearing loss, received the honour in the King’s Birthday Honours list in June. She was nominated for the honour by her husband Paul.

Merleen, who is profoundly deaf herself, has experienced first-hand the challenges that deaf people and people with hearing loss face, and the lack of understanding and awareness around deafness.

Deteriorating hearing impacted Merleen’s professional life as a senior education officer, and eventually she had to take early retirement, due to a lack of support or understanding of her hearing loss. Merleen says that communication challenges, a lack of understanding and feelings of isolation were key factors in this decision.

Merleen, who has a hearing assistance dog named Zyla, and whose previous hearing dog was called Grace, has been passionate about raising awareness and understanding of deafness and hearing loss since her connection with the charity began 15 years ago.

In that time, her voluntary work in the region has included supporting Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to meet the needs of patients, staff and volunteers with hearing loss.

She also recently instigated the launch of a monthly drop-in session at Royal Worcester Hospital, which has so far engaged over 200 staff and visitors in just a few months.

Merleen has provided deaf awareness advice and training to major banks, medical environments and tourist attractions. Since 2011, she has delivered over 460 educational talks on hearing loss, deaf awareness, and what Hearing Dogs for Deaf People does, and is actively involved in the delivery of the charity’s peer support services that make a real difference to people who are deaf or have hearing loss.

“I feel totally overwhelmed by this honour. This is not just for me; it is for all the wonderful and dedicated volunteers and staff at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, who offer support and encouragement to deaf and hearing-impaired people and their loved ones, to enable them to become the very best version of themselves that they can be, whether it is through the life-transforming support of a hearing dog, or through the amazing work of the charity’s Hearing Link Services. To you all, it is a real privilege to work with every one of you – thank you all for your support and encouragement. This recognition is for you all.”

Tracy Griffin, chief executive of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, said: “We are so proud of Merleen for this well-deserved honour. She has tirelessly given up hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of her free time over the years to educate others on deafness and hearing loss, to challenge misconceptions and misunderstandings, and to help us deliver our hearing loss services, to ultimately help other people.

“Through the talks Merleen gives for our charity alone she has given a better understanding of hearing loss and its challenges to over 12,300 people – that’s a huge number of people who can now, through what they’ve learned from Merleen, be more aware of the needs of people with hearing loss, whether that’s at work, in a social setting, or when using public services or businesses.”