Pesquisas científicas sobre o zumbido no Brasil: um compilado observacional

Abstract

Introduction: Tinnitus is defined as a conscious sensory perception of a sound that is not linked to a corresponding external sound source. Thus, tinnitus has attracted the attention of researchers due to the complexity of the symptom that involves different body systems, characterizing it as a multifactorial symptom of heterogeneous etiology. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the profile of tinnitus research in Brazil and the main procedures adopted by professionals in the area in the national territory. Methods: This observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was developed according to the recommendations of STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology. Initially, an active search was carried out on digital platforms, such as those of the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Diretório dos Grupos de Pesquisa no Brasil (DGPs/CNPQ) and the professional social networks Linkedin and ResearchGate to identify who researches tinnitus in Brazil. Afterwards, an online form was sent with 21 standardized objective questions in order to know the works in development of these researchers. A descriptive analysis was performed and measures of absolute and relative frequency were extracted from the final sample. Results: The sample consisted of 21 researchers, (90.5%) female and (9.5%) male These professionals develop clinical research (76.1%), research on translation and adaptation of protocols (4 .8%), animal research (4.8%) and other types of research (14.3%). These studies are mainly focused on therapies and/or treatments (38.1%), tinnitus prevention (9.5%), experimental studies (4.8%), tinnitus assessment methods (38.1%) and others (9.5%). In addition, these professionals use the Visual Analogue Scale- EVA (81%), the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory-THI (71.4%), Tinnitus Functional Index- TFI (14.3%), Acuphenometry (57.1%) and (14.3%) make use of other protocols. The institutions carrying out the studies were public (81%) and private (19%). The Southeast was the predominant Brazilian macro-region in the development of research, as it housed 47.7% of these productions, followed by the Northeast with 23.8%, the South with 19% and the Center-West with 9.5%. Conclusion: With the data obtained during the work, it was possible to observe the predominance of public institutions in the Southeast macro-region as the main research center on the subject in the national territory. More than half of these studies are of the clinical type, focusing on therapies and/or treatments and evaluation methods for tinnitus. On the other hand, epidemiological studies, in vitro and with children and adolescents, need greater investment and attention. Most professionals who study tinnitus are speech therapists and otorhinolaryngologists, who develop more than one tinnitus research at the same time. Thus, the use of VAS and THI protocols prevailed as symptom assessment resources and acuphenometry is also well implemented in the assessment process. In these researches, different technological and thematic resources associated with tinnitus were also seen, such as sound therapy, hearing aids and/or CI, somatosensory system, electroencephalography/magnetic resonance imaging and medication/drug study. In addition, multidisciplinarity is present in most of the research in development, with a diversity of professionals dedicated to studying the symptom.