CIICA CONVERSATION: ADULTS WITH CI: THE IMPACT ON THE FAMILY

TUESDAY 27TH JANUARY 2026

When a person is deaf, there is an impact on the family and often when an adult receives an implant, there is an impact on the family too. This conversation provided an opportunity for family members to contribute too. It began with Nikki Philpott sharing the results of her survey of family members, illustrating the impact that deafness and CI had on them.

Zala Tomasic, a Member of the European Parliament and daughter of CI user Darja Pajk, member of the CIICA Board,  shared movingly the impact of deafness in the family on other members, and the change made by CI at our CI advocacy in Action Conference:

Having a cochlear implant is not just a medical change. It changes your life, your family life, it changes your confidence, it changes what you as a person dare to do and what you are afraid of and what not. It is one of the most powerful technologies.

 

See Nikki’s presentation on the topic here: https://ciicanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Nikki-Philpott_Towards-personalized-adult-CI-services_QoL.pdf

Led by Kris English, USA, Nikki Philpott, Netherlands, Darja Pajk, Slovenia and Sarah Smith, UK ,with adult CI users, this topic is an important one which has emerged in other conversations.