Analytical Review of Tinnitus Questionnaires: Characteristics and Understanding

Lee, Jangwon; Lee, Kyungju; Oh, Hongyeop; Jeong, Seungyeop; Jin, In-Ki

doi:2018.14.2.73

Audiology and Speech Research > Volume 14(2); 2018 > Article

Review Paper

Audiology and Speech Research 2018;14(2): 73-80.
Published online: April 30, 2018.
doi: http://doi.org/10.21848/asr.2018.14.2.73

이명 설문지의 특징과 이해를 위한 분석

이장원¹, 이경주¹, 오홍엽¹, 정승엽¹, 진인기²

¹한림대학교 일반대학원 언어병리청각학과
²한림대학교 자연과학대학 언어청각학부·청각언어연구소

Analytical Review of Tinnitus Questionnaires: Characteristics and Understanding

Jangwon Lee¹, Kyungju Lee¹, Hongyeop Oh¹, Seungyeop Jeong¹, In-Ki Jin²

¹Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Graduate School, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea
²Division of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Research Institute of Audiology and Speech Pathology, College of Natural Sciences, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea

Correspondence

In-Ki Jin ,Tel: +82-33-248-2221, Fax: +82-33-256-3420, Email: inkijin@hallym.ac.kr

Received: February 26, 2018; Revised: March 22, 2018 Accepted: March 26, 2018. Published online: April 30, 2018.

ABSTRACT

For decades, tinnitus questionnaires have used as an effective tool to evaluate the degree of tinnitus relief or a patient’s subjective perception of tinnitus. The purpose of this study was to review four tinnitus questionnaires that have primarily been used in clinics. The Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire (THQ), Tinnitus Handicap Index (THI), Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), and Tinnitus Primary Functional Questionnaire (TPFQ) were reviewed for development background, purpose of development, developmental process, questionnaire characteristics, reliability test results, and pros and cons of each questionnaire. Each tinnitus questionnaire has their own characteristics in terms of evaluations and interpretations. Especially, the THQ is focused on social, emotional, and physical impacts and the THI is focused on catastrophic loss of life, functional, and emotional factors. The TFI is mainly focused on quality of life, cognitive, and emotional factors. The TPFQ is focused on hearing, sleep, concentration, and emotional factors. The current study provides detailed information about four questionnaires. If each questionnaire is correctly identified and applied, effective measures of tinnitus and the degree of tinnitus relief through rehabilitation can be efficiently measured.

Key Words: Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire, Tinnitus Handicap Index, Tinnitus Functional Index, Tinnitus Primary Functional Questionnaire