CIICA Network’s Activities on CI International Day 2025

There was a huge amount of activity on International CI Day this year. See below some of the initiatives within the CIICA network! Do send us yours!

On CIICA’s fourth birthday and CI International Day, we were delighted to share the Agenda that a global group of Young Adults with CI has been working on. This new stakeholders’ group, the first to receive hearing through cochlear implants as children, are now entering higher education and the world of work.See their recommendations for the provision of lifelong services, increased accessibility and public awareness.

WATCH THE VIDEO

DOWNLOAD THE AGENDA

Spanish organisation AICE marked International CI Day with their campaign across the Spanish public transportation system, with advertisements on buses and in Metro stations in various Spanish cities.

AICE also raised awareness at the Palacio de la Música in Valencia with 1,500 people; tickets sold out!! Beethoven’s wonderful music reminded everyone of his battle with his deafness.

Read more about their manifesto here!

EURO-CIU declared the slogan “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges” for Cochlear Implant Day 2025, emphasizing the urgent need to overcome the stigmas and everyday challenges faced by the hard of hearing and deaf people. Through education, culture, and the dissemination of information about cochlear implants, the goal is to enhance understanding and improve lives.
Read more about their International CI Day activities here.

CI user and Young Adults with CI campaigner, Qais Khan, shared the Young Adult’s agenda with his colleagues and treated them to Dunkin Donuts!!

Five Flemish Associations for people with hearing loss join together

A great new video launched on CI International Day from HOORNETWERK VLAANDEVEN. This video is the result of a great collaboration between 5 Flemish associations for people with a hearing loss, representing > 90% of the population with a hearing loss in Flanders-Belgium, showing the help that is available when people lose their hearing.  

Collaboration is so important! Watch the video here

On International Cochlear Implant Day, Auditory Verbal UK shared Sanemi’s story (pictured) celebrating what is possible when deaf children have access to early and effective support. Sanemi, 12, was born profoundly deaf and had cochlear implant surgery at 15 months. She is now thriving at school after the support from her family and professionals, including her Auditory Verbal Therapist, who supported Sanemi to learn to listen and talk by learning to make sense of the sound she receives through her implants and develop spoken language. Sanemi won the 2024 Claire Campbell Outstanding Achievement Award for going above and beyond to demonstrate that deaf children can achieve their potential. She is also an ambassador and mentor for Advanced Bionics and volunteers with the BEARS Both Ears trial.

AVUK were also proud to share the Young Adult Agenda launch from CIICA, which saw input from Ava Pearson, who was supported by AVUK’s family programme as a young child.

Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA) launches their Spend2Save Canada campaign!

On CI International Day  CHHA launched their Spend2Save Canada campaign aimed at improving provision of  CI  and equity across the Canadian provinces.

Brian Lamb and Sue Archbold were delighted to contribute to this launch, having contributed Spend2SaveCanada and it was great to hear how much has been done by their Spend2Save Campaign Committee to support this powerful launch. We look forward to further collaboration with CHHA on this topic – that investing in CI changes lives and saves society money!

International Cochlear Implant Day 2025 coincides with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World Hearing Day theme, “Changing Mindsets: Let’s Make Ear and Hearing Care a Reality for All.” This shared focus recognises the vital role cochlear implants play in improving hearing and communication for thousands of New Zealanders.

Visit PinDrop’s website here for more of their activities.

What did the CIICA network achieve in 2024?

2024 has been an amazing year for the CIICA network, with our members increasing and our global reach increasing. Our membership has increased by 23% across the world, with over 100 organisations and over 600 individuals active in 74 countries.

A key development has been the first Advocacy in Action conference at our legal home in Brussels – with 100 delegates from 27 countries – see https://ciicanet.org/events/ci-advocacy-in-action-first-global-conference-may-2024/ for a taste of the action! and the conference has led to much more collaborative global advocacy work.

Our website is central to our network, and activity has seen year on year growth, with important new resources, including advocacy training videos, developed and published in the latter half of the year.

Our infographic highlights our major impact and growth during the course of the year:

Read CIICA’s full Annual Report for 2024 here and find out how we did it.

A huge THANK YOU to our global members, partners and the CIICA team, for all for your enthusiasm and commitment!

World Hearing Forum Student Changemaker Awards 2024-2025

Innovate. Inspire. Impact

Are you ready to make a lasting impact on global health? The World Hearing Forum invites you to participate in the World Hearing Forum Student Changemaker Awards 2024-2025!

Application Extended March 3 2025

APPLY NOW

Questions? Contact us at whfchangemakers@gmail.com

This is your chance to:

·       Develop innovative solutions for ear and hearing care in low- and middle-income countries

·       Transform your ideas into reality with substantial funding

·       Receive expert mentorship in your field

Why It Matters: Nearly 60% of childhood hearing loss is preventable, yet only 17% of those needing hearing aids have access. Your innovative ideas can bridge this gap and change lives globally.

Competition Categories:

·       Prevention: Develop strategies to prevent hearing loss from preventable causes

·       Assistive Technologies: Create low-cost technologies to aid people with hearing loss

·       Training & Education: Design methods to support frontline workers in delivering ear and hearing care

Who Can Apply: We welcome undergraduate and graduate students from diverse disciplines, including public health, medicine, engineering, and innovation.

Exciting Prizes:

·       🥇 1st Place: $15,000 + Presentation at World Hearing Forum meeting in 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland

·       🥈 2nd Place: $10,000

·       🥉 3rd Place: $5,000

Don’t Miss Out!

Application Extended March 3 2025

APPLY NOW

Questions? Contact us at whfchangemakers@gmail.com

AICE advocates at the Spanish Parliament for Ser Oído’ (Be Heard) for better access to cochlear implants for older people with profound hearing loss

The ‘Being Heard’ initiative, promoted by the Federation AICE (Spanish Federation of Cochlear Implant Associations), is committed to a better future for older people with profound hearing loss. The platform, which was presented on 1 October at the Spanish Congress of Deputies with almost 200 attendees, including more than 100 cochlear implant recipients and their families, seeks to raise awareness of the need to build a more inclusive, accessible and sustainable future for people with profound hearing loss, as well as to improve access to cochlear implantation for the elderly population.

The event included a speech by the head of hearing at the WHO, Dr. Shelly Chadha, and a round table moderated by journalist Ana Blanco, with the participation of Dr. Serafín Sánchez, vice-president of SEORL (Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology), Dr. Carlos Cenjor, otorhinolaryngologist and president of the GAES-Amplifon scientific committee, and Inmaculada Soto, president of the Federation AICE. The event was attended by more than 100 cochlear implant users from different parts of Spain, many representatives of the Congress and Senate from all political parties, who have committed themselves to pass on our proposals and agree on how to achieve them, as well as otolaryngologists, audiologists, nurses and speech therapists.

The event celebrated on the World Day of Older Persons was covered by numerous media (written and digital press, radio and television), and has had a great impact on social networks.

The challenges of ‘Being Heard’.

The Federation AICE’s initiative, with the collaboration of GAES-Amplifon, seeks to counteract these factors that hinder access to cochlear implants for the elderly. One of its objectives is to raise awareness among both health professionals and society to combat the stigma associated with hearing loss and its denial. In the same vein, it aims to promote early detection and treatment with sustainable funding to ensure more equitable access for all patients.

Already 79 organisations, including other big Spanish patient associations, professionals and medical and scientific societies, have signed up to the ‘Being Heard’ manifesto. The platform also has broad popular support, with more than 2,500 signatories. Please join their claim https://www.seroido.org/

CIICA AT THE WORLD CONGRESS OF AUDIOLOGY, PARIS, SEPTEMBER 2024

Chair of CIICA, Leo De Raeve, opens the session on the latest version of the  Living Guidelines! Delegates heard about the updates and the changes made to CI services as  a result of the new guidelines.  You can see the new guidelines here Launch of Living Guidelines Version 3 – CIICA (ciicanet.org)… and CIICA summary here CIICA’s summary of The Living Guidelines for Adult CI – CIICA (ciicanet.org)
 

Leo de Raeve and De Wet Swanepoel took up the challenges from an interested audience.

2024 Update of Lancet Commission on dementia strengthens case for addressing hearing loss

The 2024 update of the Lancet Commission on dementia, published on the 31^st of July, has provided further support that addressing hearing loss in midlife can decrease the risk of dementia. This provides important additional support of the importance of addressing hearing loss early to improve cognitive health.

The report has completed “a new meta-analyses of the risk of hearing loss and depression for future dementia and reviewed and used the most recent literature on worldwide risk and prevalences of all risk factors to calculate new population attributable fractions for all risks.”

Reworking International data and adding two new modifiable risks they produced a new analysis of the potentially modifiable risks for dementia in mid life in which hearing loss is now 7%.

The also concluded on the basis of the new data and analysis that “The evidence that treating hearing loss decreases the risk of dementia is now stronger than when our previous Commission report was published. Use of hearing aids appears to be particularly effective in people with hearing loss and additional risk factors for dementia.”

Based on significant additional evidence the authors concluded that “The observational evidence of the benefits of hearing aids for dementia risk is increasing. Even if only the studies with long follow-up are considered, to reduce the chance of reverse causality, the evidence on hearing aids reducing dementia risk is consistent and supportive. Implementing the use of hearing aids, if effective in preventing dementia, would likely be cost saving.”

The full report can be accessed at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01296-0/fulltext

CIICA briefing on Why Hearing Matters for Health Ageing can be accessed here https://ciicanet.org/resources/ciica-and-eurociu-launch-new-resource-why-hearing-well-matters-for-healthy-ageing/