The relathinship between tinnitus functional index and tinnitus handicap inventory scores in patients with chronic tinnitus

Abstract

Background and Aim: Tinnitus can affect daily life. The evaluation of the affected aspects of life quality is highly dependent on the sub­jects’perception. Self-report questionnaires have been used to identify these affected aspects.
In the present study, the relationship between the Persian versions of tinnitus functional index (TFI-P) and tinnitus handicap inventory (THI-P) was investigated.

Methods: This is a comparative cross-sectional study conducted on 28 hearing-impaired and 27 normal hearing subjects with tinnitus in aged 18−60 years selected according to the inclusion criteria. Both groups completed the TFI-P and THI-P.

Results: There was a significant and relatively strong relationship between the total scores of THI-P and TFI-P (r = 0.65) and also between the emotional subscale of TFI-P and the cata­strophic subscale of THI-P (r = 0.73). More­over, there was a moderate relationship between age factor and total score of TFI-P (r = −0.32), and between the cognitive subscale of TFI-P and age (r = 0.40). However, no significant difference was found between hearing-impaired and normal hearing subjects in terms of the  total score and subscale scores of TFI-P. Fur­thermore, we found a significant difference bet­ween female and male subjects in terms of the relaxation subscale of TFI-P, and between dura­tion of tinnitus and the quality of life subscale
(r = 0.33).

Conclusion: The scores of the THI-P and TFI-P questionnaires are related to each other and they can be used for measuring the negative effects of tinnitus.

Keywords: Tinnitus; tinnitus functional index; tinnitus handicap inventory