Advancing tinnitus research and researcher training: A case study review and future perspectives.

Tinnitus affects one in 10 people and for many significantly impairs quality of life. Whilst there has been a notable increase in tinnitus research funding and tinnitus-related scientific publications in recent years, this is not keeping pace with other disciplines such as hearing loss. Tinnitus research is less attractive to industry funders, in particular because the field lacks consensus on many topics, objective measures, and treatment success stories. There is a clear need for even more funding, better quality studies, increased capacity, and more interdisciplinary working in the field. One important effort in this direction was the European School for Interdisciplinary Tinnitus research (ESIT) project. This EU-funded doctoral training program brought together a consortium of clinicians, academics, commercial partners, patient organizations, and public health experts. The program supported fundamental science and clinical research projects in order to advance treatments, develop innovative research methods, perform genetic and epidemiological studies, and establish a pan-European data resource. Underpinning the program was a comprehensive training curriculum designed to address the skills and researcher competencies defined by the Vitae Researcher Development Framework. This approach, reviewed in detail here, allowed for systematic identification of strengths and development needs, action planning, and review of achievements. We conclude the general need for increased capacity in the field, and coordinated efforts to both improve research quality and address fundamental issues that will attract and retain funding and researchers. ESIT provides an evidenced format for training in the field of tinnitus research.

The Effect of Environmental Stressors on Tinnitus: A Prospective Longitudinal Study on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Tinnitus, the perception of sound in the absence of a corresponding sound, and the distress caused by it, is rarely a static phenomenon. It rather fluctuates over time depending on endogenous and exogenous factors. The COVID-19 pandemic is a potential environmental stressor that might influence the individually perceived tinnitus distress. Since not all people are affected by the pandemic in the same way, the situation allows one to identify environmental factors and personality traits that impact tinnitus distress differently. In our study, 122 tinnitus patients were included at two time points: in the year 2018 and during the German lockdown in April 2020. We assessed tinnitus-related distress, depressive symptoms, personality characteristics and the individual perception of the pandemic situation. On average, there was only a small increase of tinnitus distress with heterogeneous changes during the lockdown. People perceiving the situation as generally stressful with increased grief, frustration, stress and nervousness reported the worsening of tinnitus distress. People with high values in neuroticism also reported the worsening of tinnitus distress, while the personality traits extraversion, conscientiousness and openness seemed to be a protection factor. The study identifies factors that influence tinnitus distress change during a pandemic and spots those patients that need specific help in the pandemic situation.