一项新的研究表明，佩戴助听器可以延缓痴呆的进程达75%。科学家们相信，通过佩戴助听器，让老年人保持社会参与和活跃，可以显著降低与年龄相关的认知衰退。
他们跟踪了1996年至2014年间2040名受试者的进展，要求他们在不同阶段完成单词记忆测试，并监测在获得助听器之前和之后的下降率。
研究小组发现，虽然助听器并没有阻止或逆转认知能力的下降，但是减缓了四分之三，同时在另外一组2068名接受白内障手术的患者中，减缓了约一半。
曼彻斯特大学的研究小组说，助听器、白内障手术和精神衰退之间联系的强度意味着政策制定者应该考虑对所有老年人进行听力和视力损失的筛查。
皮尔斯·道斯博士说：“这些研究强调了克服阻碍人们使用听觉和视觉辅助设备的障碍是多么的重要。
“听觉和视觉问题对认知能力衰退的影响尚不清楚，但我猜，与听觉和视觉问题相关的孤独、悲观和由此导致的缺乏身体活动可能与此有关。”
还有一些障碍需要克服——人们可能不想戴助听器，因为戴助听器意味着残疾，或者他们觉得扩音效果不够好，或者他们不舒服。
一家慈善机构预测，随着人口迅速老龄化，到2035年，英国患听力障碍的人数将增加40%。
慈善机构的“听力损失行动”认为，遭受这种困难的人数将从六分之一增加到五分之一，因为它呼吁对听力损失的治疗和研究进行更多投资。
尽管如此，每位听力损失者仅花费1.11英镑来研究潜在的治愈方法，而视力损失者则花费11.35英镑。
这项新研究发表在PLoS One和美国老年医学杂志上。
Wearing a hearing aid can slow the progress of dementia by up to 75 per cent, according to a new study.Scientists believe that keeping older people engaged and active by adopting the devices can significantly reduce age-related cognitive decline.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
"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.”
Number of people in Britain suffering hearing problems will rise by 40 per cent by 2035 amid a rapidly ageing population, a charity has forecast.
The charity Action on Hearing Loss believes the number of people suffering such difficulties will rise from one in six to one in five, as it called for more investment in treatment and research into hearing loss.
Despite this, only £1.11 per person with hearing loss is spent researching potential cures, compared with £11.35 for every person with sight loss.
The new research was published in PLOS ONE and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
