Jameel Muzaffar, Consultant ENT Surgeon, University Hospitals Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
The British Cochlear Implant Group (BCIG) Meeting 2024, hosted by the North East Cochlear Implant Programme (NECIP), was entitled ‘Learning journeys – bringing people together’. The gathering was a showcase of multidisciplinary approaches to shared problems in auditory implantation in a spectacular venue, including a really well-attended parallel stream for BAA/BCIG cochlear implant champions and mentors.
Highlights included keynote lectures by Professor Timothy Griffiths and the Graham Fraser Memorial Lecture, delivered by Professor Dan Jiang (pictured right, with Patricia Fraser). Prof Griffiths’s exploration of ‘Neurocognition – how hearing loss can cause dementia and the protective role of cochlear implants’ presented fascinating data on the cognitive impacts of auditory health, whilst Professor Jiang's lecture, ‘Decoding silence,’ offered insight into paediatric auditory brainstem implants, emphasising their continuing evolution and the crucial role of multidisciplinary approaches in optimising patient outcomes.
The posters and oral presentations were of a typically high standard with Katherine Wilson (Guy’s St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, UK) and Kate Hanvey (Birmingham Children’s Hospital, UK) winning the oral presentation prize for their presentation on ‘Hearing preservation in children,’ and Jillian Ridgwell (Bradford Teaching Hospitals, UK) for 'Patient motivation and cochlear implant outcomes' winning the poster prize.
Conferences in the post-pandemic era continue to offer the opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones, including a dinner at the Boiler Shop, which provided an excellent chance for informal networking and lively collaborative discussions.
Next year’s meeting promises to build on these discussions and themes: 1–2 May 2025, Royal College of Surgeons, London, UK.
