Deaf Immy, a TikTok star, died at 25. Her family shared touching tributes after her tragic passing in January 2023.
Imogen had over 800,000 followers on TikTok. The inquest took place in Horsham, West Sussex. It heard that her death might have been “avoidable,” suggesting more support could have changed things. Imogen was diagnosed as deaf very young.
Her mom described her as a “rainbow” and said Imogen had a “special aura.” Imogen struggled with mental health issues, though. These issues started when she was just 14, and moving to secondary school made things harder for her.
Imogen had a history of self-harm and had attempted suicide before. She was sectioned after an alleged school abuse too. She stayed at St George’s Hospital from 2018 to 2021, in a special unit for deaf patients.
There, doctors diagnosed her with complex PTSD and an unstable personality disorder. She also had depression and anxiety. Immy left the hospital in September of 2021 with support while living in Brighton. Her hearing dog, Whitney, lived with her.
Her parents believe mental health services failed her. They told the inquest she missed meetings, which they felt should have been a red flag. Immy told carers she considered suicide and was admitted to a Brighton hospital in February 2022.
In November, she told her nurse she bought a chemical. Police checked her flat, but without an interpreter, and officers did not follow up. Immy entered a Brighton hospital again in late December after she self-harmed.
She told her psychologist she considered suicide. Her mom said her death seemed avoidable and that help at the right times could have saved her. Missing appointments were a sign of serious trouble, and Immy’s mom thinks her daughter felt hopeless and let down.
Imogen started her TikTok to share her struggles and talk about being deaf with mental illness. Her mom described her as a “rainbow” with a very special aura. Immy fought for 11 years.
Immy never gave up fighting her inner voices. The inquest continues to look into what happened.
Suicide takes a life every 90 minutes in the UK and affects all kinds of people. Suicide is the top killer of those under 35, and men are more at risk than women. We should talk about it more openly.
