佩戴助聽器可使老年癡呆患病過程放慢75%
Wearing a hearing aid can slow the progress of dementia by up to 75 per cent, according to a new study.
一項新研究指出，佩戴助聽器可以使老年癡呆的患病過程最多放慢75%。Scientists believe that keeping older people engaged and active by adopting the devices can significantly reduce age-related cognitive decline.
科學家們認爲，通過使用這種設備讓老年人與外界保持聯繫、時刻處於活躍狀態，能夠大大延緩與衰老有關的認知退化。They followed the progress of 2,040 individuals between 1996 and 2014, asking them to complete word memory tests at various stages and monitoring the rate of decline before and after getting a hearing aid.
他們跟蹤了2040人在1996年至2014年間的變化，在不同階段讓這些人完成記單詞測試，檢測受試者佩戴助聽器之前和之後認知退化的速度。
The research team found that while the aids did not halt or reverse cognitive decline, they slowed it down by three-quarters, meanwhile in a separate group of 2,068 who underwent cataract surgery, decline slowed by around half.
研究團隊發現，儘管助聽器沒能阻止或逆轉認知退化，但它們將這一過程放慢了四分之三。與此同時，另一組2068名接受白內障手術的患者認知退化速度放慢了一半。
The team at the University of Manchester said the strength of the association between hearing aids, cataract surgery and mental deterioration meant policy makers should consider hearing and sight loss screening for all older adults.
英國曼徹斯特大學的研究團隊稱，助聽器、白內障手術與智力退化之間關聯如此之強，這意味着決策者應該考慮對所有老年人進行聽力和視力篩查。Dr Piers Dawes said: "These studies underline just how important it is to overcome the barriers which deny people from accessing hearing and visual aids."
皮爾斯·道斯博士表示：“這些研究強調了克服人們在聽力和視覺上的障礙對人們來說是多麼的重要。”"It's not really certain why hearing and visual problems have an impact on cognitive decline, but I'd guess that isolation, stigma and the resultant lack of physical activity that are linked to hearing and vision problems might have something to do with it.
“爲什麼聽力和視力問題對認知衰退有影響，答案並不確定，但我猜測聽力和視力問題可能帶來孤立感和難堪，而人的身體活動水平也隨之大幅下降，這些因素可能起到了作用。”"And there are barriers to overcome -- people might not want to wear hearing aids because of stigma attached to wearing them, or they feel the amplification is not good enough or they're not comfortable."
“我們需要克服一些障礙--人們可能不願意佩戴助聽器，因爲那會使他們感到難堪，或者他們感覺聲音放大的效果不好，或者讓他們感到不舒服。”
