Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire Research Articles

An Exploratory Study of Bimodal Electro-Aural Stimulation Through the Ear Canals for Tinnitus.

The aim of this study was to explore the potential for bimodal auditory and noninvasive electrical stimulation at the ears to alleviate tonal, somatic tinnitus that was investigated in a small preliminary trial (11 participants). Auditory stimulation took the form of short "notched noise" bursts customized to each participant's tinnitus percept. Simultaneous pulsed electrical stimulation, intended to facilitate neuroplasticity, was delivered via hydrogel electrodes placed in opposite ears. After a 6-week intervention period, average Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) and Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ) scores were consistent with clinically meaningful improvements in the study population. Magnitudes and effect sizes of improvements in TFI and TPFQ are comparable to those reported in other recent bimodal therapy studies using different auditory and electrical stimulation parameters. Our results should be considered preliminary given the small sample size, lack of crossover data, and small subject pool. When considered alongside other recent bimodal therapy results, we do believe that there are therapeutic benefits of bimodal stimulation for tinnitus sufferers that have the potential to help some with tinnitus, with a variety of stimulation parameters and electrode placements. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25444546.

Tinnitus Relief Effect According to the Stimulus Listening Method of Sound Therapy

Purpose: This study investigated the tinnitus relief effect of the stimulation listening method in sound therapy. Methods: The participants were randomly divided into two groups: 16 in the continuous listening group and 15 in the intermittent listening group. The participants listened to broad-band noise at the mixing point level for 3 months, either continuously for 2 hours or intermittently 4 hours for 30 minutes, depending on the group allocation. The results of this study were confirmed by measuring scores through the Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (K-TPFQ) and visual analog scale (VAS) for tinnitus loudness and annoyance at pretreatment and at 1, 2, and 3 months follow-ups. Results: Average scores of the K-TPFQ and VAS for tinnitus loudness and annoyance significantly improved with the duration of sound therapy in both the continuous listening and intermittent listening groups (<i>p</i> < 0.05). However, there was no difference between the two groups regarding the stimulation listening method in sound therapy, and no significant interaction effects were confirmed. Conclusion: The method of listening to the sound therapy continuously for 2 hours and the method of listening intermittently for 30 minutes had similar tinnitus relief effects.

The Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Persian Version of Iowa Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire

Background and Aim: Tinnitus is a common symptom and affects patients differently. The Iowa Tinnitus Primary Function (ITPF) questionnaire evaluates tinnitus in four areas: concentration, emotion, hearing, and sleep. This study aimed to translate and then assess the psychometrics of the ITPF questionnaire.
 Methods: This is a cross-sectional and methodological (test construction) study. The questionnaire was translated by the Word Health Organization protocol. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were assessed. The measured validities were the content, face, and discriminative. The reliability was estimated by internal consistency and test-retest stability. We also measured the effects of age and sex on the questionnaire’s score.
 Results: The questionnaire was translated based on the protocol. Each item of the questionnaire was understandable for patients and healthy participants. The face and content validities were confirmed by the patients and specialists, respectively. The score of 10.97 was determined as the cutoff point between patients and healthy participants, with a sensitivity of 86.70% and a specificity of 96.10%. The Cronbach α was found to be 0.958, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.975. No significant effect was observed for age (p=0.314) and gender (p=0.866).
 Conclusion: The Persian version of the questionnaire showed high validity and reliability. It could be used in research and clinical settings.
 Keywords: Tinnitus; tinnitus primary function questionnaire; reliability; validity

Patient-Reported Functional Impairment Due to Hearing Loss and Tinnitus After Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy.

Cisplatin is widely used and highly ototoxic, but patient-reported functional impairment because of cisplatin-related hearing loss (HL) and tinnitus has not been comprehensively evaluated. Testicular cancer survivors (TCS) given first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy completed validated questionnaires, including the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA) and Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ), each of which quantifies toxicity-specific functional impairment. Spearman correlations evaluated associations between HL and tinnitus severity and level of functional handicap quantified with the HHIA and TPFQ, respectively. Associations between HL or tinnitus and five prespecified adverse health outcomes (cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and overall health) were evaluated. HL and tinnitus affected 137 (56.4%) and 147 (60.5%) of 243 TCS, respectively. Hearing aids were used by 10% TCS (14/137). Of TCS with HL, 35.8% reported clinically significant functional impairment. Severe HHIA-assessed functional impairment was associated with cognitive dysfunction (odds ratio [OR], 10.62; P < .001), fatigue (OR, 5.48; P = .003), and worse overall health (OR, 0.19; P = .012). Significant relationships existed between HL severity and HHIA score, and tinnitus severity and TPFQ score (P < .0001 each). TCS with either greater hearing difficulty or more severe tinnitus were more likely to report cognitive dysfunction (OR, 5.52; P = .002; and OR, 2.56; P = .05), fatigue (OR, 6.18; P < .001; and OR, 4.04; P < .001), depression (OR, 3.93; P < .01; and OR, 3.83; P < .01), and lower overall health (OR, 0.39; P = .03; and OR, 0.46; P = .02, respectively). One in three TCS with HL report clinically significant functional impairment. Follow-up of cisplatin-treated survivors should include routine assessment for HL and tinnitus. Use of the HHIA and TPFQ permit risk stratification and referral to audiologists as needed, since HL adversely affects functional status and is the single largest modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia in the general population.

Maintenance of Improvement in Tinnitus after Tinnitus Sound Therapy: A 6-Month Follow-Up Study

Purpose: Sound therapy is a useful rehabilitation approach that focuses on listening to external stimuli to reduce the perception of and negative reactions to tinnitus. In this study, we investigated whether the benefits of sound therapy for tinnitus were maintained after treatment completion.Methods: The study included 18 adults with chronic sensorineural tinnitus. The intervention used was sound therapy based on the mixing point level of each participant. Participants received sound therapy for 6 months; the Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire was administered before, after, and 6 months after completion of sound therapy to confirm any resolution of tinnitus.Results: The beneficial effects against tinnitus were maintained even 6 months post-therapy in 18 participants who showed significant improvement in mean questionnaire scores following sound therapy. With regard to the mean total score and mean subscale scores of emotion, sleep, concentration, and hearing, improvements between the baseline and 6-month follow-up were 24.22, 26.23, 25.22, 29.56, and 15.89, respectively.Conclusion: Sound therapy may be a potentially useful strategy that maintains improvement in tinnitus even after treatment. This fact may be useful to hearing professionals who may consider sound therapy for management of tinnitus.

The Impact of Daily Hours of Sound Therapy on Tinnitus Relief for People With Chronic Tinnitus: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Tinnitus is defined as the perception of sounds in the absence of extrinsic sound stimuli. Sound therapy is an option for tinnitus rehabilitation, which aims to mitigate the functional and emotional effects of tinnitus. Several studies have reported that a longer duration of sound therapy may result in a greater tinnitus relief effect. However, the relationship between the daily hours of sound therapy and the tinnitus relief effect remains unclear. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the tinnitus relief effect according to the time spent in daily performing sound therapy. Fifty-eight chronic tinnitus participants were randomly assigned to three groups according to their daily hours of sound therapy (1-hr, 3-hr, and 5-hr groups), and mixing point-based sound therapy, which adjusts the volume of the external stimulus to blend with the participant's tinnitus sound, was administered for 3 months. The effectiveness of sound therapy was determined based on changes in the tinnitus loudness level, visual analog scale for loudness score, and the Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (K-TPFQ) score between the baseline and 3-month time points. Longer daily sound therapy hours were associated to a greater effect of sound therapy in the tinnitus loudness level and the total K-TPFQ scores, including the emotion and hearing subcategories. Particularly, the 3-hr and 5-hr groups showed a greater tinnitus relief than the 1-hr group. An increase in the daily sound therapy hours may increase the possibility of improving tinnitus relief effects.

Translation and validation of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire into Brazilian Portuguese

ObjectiveIn this study, the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire was translated, culturally adapted and validated for Brazilian Portuguese. MethodsThis study was carried out in two stages. First, a prospective study of translation and cultural adaptation was carried out with a group of 20 patients. The questionnaire was translated, revised and back-translated from Portuguese into English. Subsequently, a retrospective study was carried out with 1,095 patients, 18 months after the first stage. The validation and reliability of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire was verified by comparing its results with the results of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. ResultsThe interclass correlation coefficient of the behavioral aspects ranged from 0.82 to 0.90 and the total score was 0.93, while Cronbach’s alpha was >0.94 for the total score during the test-retest application. To validate the questionnaire, a database was used, which consisted of 1,095 patients submitted to tinnitus assessment using the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory simultaneously. Patients were enrolled from 14 Brazilian states (46% female), with a mean age of 58 years. The reliability of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire was tested during validation for the four different evaluated behavioral aspects, and the results were significantly high for all aspects and the total score. To validate the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire, the results of the total Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores were compared using Pearson’s product-moment correlation test. The results indicate a high correlation between the two questionnaires (r=0.84; p<0.001; 95% CI 0.82–0.85). ConclusionThe data from the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire showed a high correlation with those of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. This indicates that the Portuguese version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire can be adopted as a valuable tool in the clinical evaluation of patients with tinnitus. Level of Evidence2C.

Tinnitus assessment: Chinese version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the Chinese Version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ). One hundred and sixteen patients who had been suffering from tinnitus for over 3 months were included in this study. Those tinnitus patients were administered the TPFQ, the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Additionally, the magnitude estimate of tinnitus loudness, pure tone audiogram, and tinnitus matching was obtained. The factor structure was measured using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test. The internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's α coefficient. The relationships between the TPFQ scores and other measurements were compared using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The Cronbach's α of the 20-item version of TPFQ was 0.94, and that of the 12-item version of TPFQ was 0.92. Both the 20-and 12-item versions of TPFQ were significantly correlated with magnitude estimation of tinnitus loudness, THI, PSQI, BDI, and BAI. The average pure tone hearing threshold was significantly correlated with the hearing subscale. The 20-and 12-item Chinese versions of TPFQ are reliable and valid measures of tinnitus. The TPFQ can be applied to the assessment and management of tinnitus among the Chinese-speaking population.

Cisplatin-induced tinnitus (CIS-TINN) and patient-reported outcomes in adult-onset cancer survivors.

e24089 Background: Cisplatin is one of the most used cytotoxic drugs worldwide, but few studies have comprehensively evaluated CIS-TINN in adult-onset cancer survivors. It is critical to identify survivors with high degrees of handicap and related risk factors, as tinnitus (TINN) is strongly related to adverse health outcomes (AHO) including reduced quality of life, and poorer physical and mental health. Methods: Eligible cisplatin-treated testicular cancer survivors (TCS) (aged &lt; 60 y at diagnosis) completed comprehensive, validated health surveys, including the 20-item Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ). TPFQ assesses the 4 main TINN-impaired domains (see Table), each with a response metric of 0% (no interference) to 100% interference by TINN, with final impairment groupings of 0-16% (none/minimal), 17-42% (mild/moderate), and 43-100% (significant). TPFQ measures were compared by 2-sided signed-rank tests. Multinomial logistic regression models (adjusted for age, income, education, yrs since therapy, cisplatin dose, BMI, smoking, hypertension, and hearing loss (HL)) tested for associations with TINN severity. Results are shown as OR [95% CI], p-value. Results: Among 213 TCS [median age 46 y (IQR: 38-52 y); median time since therapy: 10.6 y (IQR: 6.8-16.6 y)], the most common AHOs were CIS-TINN (60%), and HL (60%). For TCS with CIS-TINN, the mean degree of reported interference across all TPFQ domains was 21% (median: 15, IQR: 3-33). TCS with CIS-TINN reported significantly greater interference with emotion (median: 22, range 5-40) than with concentration (median 13, IQR: 1.0-37, p = .004), hearing (median: 10, IQR: 0-30, p &lt; .001), and sleep (median: 2.4, IQR: 0-21, p &lt; .001). Conclusions: Following cisplatin chemotherapy, CIS-TINN is a leading AHO and often reported with HL and reduced quality of life. Severe CIS-TINN was associated with greater handicap on the TPFQ as well as with depression, cognitive dysfunction, and hearing aid use. Overall, however, TCS with CIS-TINN and HL reported underutilization of hearing aids.[Table: see text]

A Study of the Effect of Sound Therapy in People with Mild Tinnitus

Purpose: Tinnitus refers to the maladaptive perception of sound in the absence of external sounds. Sound therapy is a representative rehabilitation option that has been used to relieve the adverse effects of tinnitus. It helps to reduce the discomfort caused by tinnitus by providing various external background noises to those suffering from tinnitus. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of sound therapy on tinnitus relief in people with mild tinnitus.Methods: Twelve participants with mild tinnitus participated in this study. Sound therapy was performed for 3 months using a customized mobile phone application. Broadband noise was used as the sound therapy stimulus. The level of stimulus was set to the level of the mixing point. The Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (K-TPFQ) score, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, and tinnitus loudness level were recorded as outcome measurements at baseline and 3 months.Results: There were no significant differences in the K-TPFQ and VAS scores and tinnitus loudness level between the baseline and 3-month follow-up session.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that sound therapy alone for 3 months does not provide significant tinnitus relief in participants with mild tinnitus. Therefore, considering only sound therapy for rehabilitation in people with mild tinnitus might not be ideal for providing relief.

THE DIAGNOSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN TINNITUS PATIENTS. A LITERATURE REVIEW

Highlight:1. Assessment of the patient’s quality of life is used to establish the diagnosis of tinnitus.2. The assessment is performed using several types of questionnaires: Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS), Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) and Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ). 3. THI is the questionnaire that has been translated into Indonesian so that it is easier to use in Indonesia.Background: Tinnitus is a symptom with many different causes that can interfere with daily life. The diagnosis of tinnitus can be carried out, starting by examining the history, physical examination, and audiology, and assessing the quality of life of the patient. Assessment of the patient’s quality of life and the severity of tinnitus was carried out using a questionnaire. Objective: This study aimed to explain the frequency of use of several questionnaires to assess the quality of life of patients with tinnitus, including Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS), Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) and Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ). Discussion: The use of THI as a research tool has been recommended for assessing the severity of tinnitus functional, emotional, and catastrophic responses. THS is used as a screening instrument to evaluate tinnitus complaints because of a hearing problem and how frequently it happens. TFI was used for identifying the functional impact on tinnitus patients, to evaluate how tinnitus affects a person’s life, while TPFQ was applied as it is a new questionnaire designed specifically for this objective. Conclusion: Many questionnaires can be used as an assessment of the quality of life of patients with tinnitus. Each questionnaire can be used and has its advantages. THI is a questionnaire that has been translated into Indonesian so that it is easier to assess.

An online survey study of the association between tinnitus and hyperacusis using validated questionnaires

Objective To investigate the association between the highly comorbid tinnitus and hyperacusis conditions using standard questionnaires. Design A cross-sectional internet-based survey consisted of general demographic questions, questions about hearing and emotional status, Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ), and Hyperacusis Questionnaire (HQ). Study sample Six hundred sixteen completed surveys were obtained primarily from students and staff in a large university. Results About 6% of the respondents could be classified as having hyperacusis based on the criterion of HQ scores ≥ 28 and had significantly increased odds of reporting having tinnitus (OR 10.11; 95% CI 3.76–35.3). Tinnitus severity (TPFQ) and HQ scores were correlated regardless of the hearing loss status. When predicting TPFQ scores, after controlling for demographic factors and affective states, hyperacusis status became an insignificant predictor. In contrast, both affirmative answers to having anxiety and depression, together with hearing loss status and tinnitus were significant predictors of HQ scores. Conclusions Having hyperacusis did not appear to contribute significantly to tinnitus severity, but having tinnitus contributed to the likelihood of having hyperacusis. Our findings provide a nuanced view of how tinnitus and hyperacusis conditions co-occur and influence each other, which may be valuable to clinicians and researchers.

Notched and Nonnotched Stimuli Are Equally Effective at the Mixing-Point Level in Sound Therapy for Tinnitus Relief.

Broadband noise (nonnotched) and notched noise are common sound sources in sound therapy for tinnitus relief. Studies on sound therapy using nonnotched or notched stimuli have reported large and small tinnitus improvements depending on the participant. However, the more effective sound source remains unclear given the among-study methodology differences. This study aimed to evaluate the tinnitus relief effects of sound therapy using stimuli with different spectral characteristics. This was a prospective study involving within-subject (baseline vs. 12-month follow-up) measurements for two groups (notched noise group vs. broadband noise group). We enrolled 30 adults with subjective and tonal tinnitus (notched noise group: 16, broadband noise group: 14). The participants underwent 3-hour daily sound therapy using either notched noise or broadband noise for 12 months. The stimulus level for sound therapy was set to each participant's mixing point. Tinnitus loudness and the Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire score were measured at baseline and at the 12-month follow-up time point. Both groups showed a significant improvement in tinnitus loudness and the Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire score. Notched and nonnotched stimuli are equally effective at the mixing point in sound therapy for tinnitus relief. Individuals with difficulties in tinnitus frequency measurement could easily undergo sound therapy using nonnotched stimuli.

Effects of Tinnitus Sound Therapy Determined Using Subjective Measurements.

Sound therapy is generally considered as an effective method for relieving tinnitus. There have been various reports on the effects of tinnitus interventions involving sound therapy as a component; however, there have been only a small number of reports on the effects of sound therapy itself on tinnitus. The aim of the study is to elucidate whether sound therapy significantly improves tinnitus as determined by subjective measurements. Prospective study involves within-subject (baseline, 3-month, 6-month) measurements. This includes 16 adults with subjective and sensorineural tinnitus. Participants undertook sound therapy for 3 hours a day for 6 months. The level of stimulus for sound therapy was set to the mixing point of each participant. No counseling was provided. Participants rated the visual analog scale for loudness and annoyance using a numeric 0 to 100 point scale and completed the Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire at the baseline, 3-month, and 6-month time points. Sound therapy led to significant improvements of tinnitus in participants in all subjective measurements. Significant effects were found not only between the baseline and 3-month but also between the 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. Results of the present study showed that the sound therapy alone led to significant improvements of tinnitus in participants as assessed by subjective measurements. To improve the effects of sound therapy, consistent sound therapy may be required for a certain period of time such as 3 hours a day over a 6-month period.

Effects of Tinnitus Sound Therapy Depending on Stimulating Sound

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the effects of sound therapy according to various types of stimuli for 3 months in people with chronic tinnitus.Methods: Fifty-eight participants with chronic tinnitus based on inclusive and exclusive criteria were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: broadband noise group, nature sound group, and music sound group. Each group received sound therapy for 3 months and the level of stimulus was set to the level of the mixing point. To measure the change in participants’ tinnitus, the Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (K-TPFQ) was used at the initial and 3-month follow-up sessions.Results: In the mixed model analysis of variance, the main effects of time were significant in almost all the K-TPFQ categories, except for the hearing category. However, the main effect of groups was not significant in most of the K-TPFQ categories, except for the sleep category. The main effects of interaction with group × time were not significant.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that sound therapy for 3 months could be effective in the management of tinnitus. However, no difference in the effect of sound therapy according to the type of stimuli was noted. These results show that sound therapy could be an effective method for people with tinnitus, regardless of the type of stimulus.

Assessment of the impact of tinnitus on the life quality of Egyptians using Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire

Background: Tinnitus affects the life quality. Various questionnaires used for assessing its severity its impact on life. Among those is the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ).Aim: Arabic translation of (TPFQ). Decide its validity and reliability among Egyptians with tinnitus. Material and methods: Agreement was obtained from the creator of the original TPFQ-12. The English version was converted into Arabic by a forward translation, back-translation, expert committee review, pretesting and finishing translation process according to the published guidelines for cross-civilizing adaptation of health-related quality of life measures. It was applied on a control group (100 normal not complaining of tinnitus) and a study group (80 patients with chronic tinnitus). Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were established. Results: The Arabic TPFQ-12 showed high internal consistency; Cronbach’s alpha 0.819 for study group while 0.806 for the control group. Repeatability of the Arabic TPFQ-12 questionnaire was high for the study and control groups respectively. with a significant difference between the study and control groups results. Conclusion: The Arabic TPFQ is a dependable tool for estimation of tinnitus effect on the quality of Egyptians life.

Trans-adaptation and Standardization of Arabic Version of Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire

Trans-adaptation and Standardization of Arabic Version of Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire

Effects of Tinnitus Sound Therapy depending on Air- and Bone-Conduction Transducers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine to compare the effects of sound therapy depending on air- and bone-conduction transducers (ACT and BCT). Methods: Participants were twenty adults who have diagnosed as subjective tinnitus in this study. All participants conducted a sound therapy using the level of mixing point for three months. Participants were randomly assigned to different groups, such as the ACT group, or BCT group. To identify the effects of sound therapy, Korean tinnitus primary function questionnaire (K-TPFQ) and visual analogue scale (VAS) were administered at pre- and post-treatment (3 months) sessions. Results: In a result of mixed model analysis of variance, all subcategories for VAS showed significant decrements of scores to the measurement session (pre- vs. post-session), but there was no different between groups. Also, the overall and all subcategories for K-TPFQ showed significant decrements of scores to the measurement session (prevs. post-session), but there was no different between groups. Conclusion: As a result of this study, the sound therapy using portable hearing devices with transducers is effective for subjective tinnitus sufferers. Because the transducer type does not significantly affect effectiveness of the sound therapy, therefore, audiologists or hearing professionals may recommend transducers, which the tinnitus sufferer prefers when they consider sound therapy.

Development of a Simplified Version and Test-Retest Reliability for Korean Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire

Purpose The purpose of this study is to verify the test-retest reliability of the Korean version of the tinnitus primary function questionnaire (K-TPFQ) and to propose a simplified version of the K-TPFQ. Methods In the test-retest reliability measure of the K-TPFQ, 31 participants were asked to complete the K-TPFQ on two occasions. Correlation between the results of the two questionnaires was confirmed by Pearson correlation coefficient. Then, a total of 110 subjects participated in the proposed, simplified version. Following factor analysis of the K-TPFQ, three items with high factor loadings for each subscale were selected as simplified version items. Internal consistency and validity were analyzed for the 12 items of the simplified version of the K-TPFQ. Results The results of the test-retest reliability analysis of K-TPFQ showed significantly high correlations in all items, subscales, and total scores (r = 0.598-0.927). As a result of factor analysis, all items in each subscale showed high communalities. Therefore, we extracted 3 items with high content validity and high factor loadings from each subscale and adopted a total of 12 items for the simplified version. The results of the internal consistency test of the simplified version showed good validity and significantly high internal consistency of all items and subscales (α = 0.839-0.950). Conclusion This study verified the high reliability and validity of the K-TPFQ. Therefore, it can be used to effectively evaluate the secondary effects of tinnitus in domestic clinics. In addition, the simplified version will reduce the time for evaluating tinnitus sufferers. Key Words: Tinnitus, Tinnitus primary function questionnaire, Questionnaire, Reliability, Factor analysis 중심 단어: ì´ëª , ì´ëª ì£¼ìš”ê¸°ëŠ¥ì„¤ë¬¸ì§€, 설문지, ì‹ ë¢°ë„, 요인분석

Reliability and validity of the mandarin version of the tinnitus primary function questionnaire: A preliminary observational study.

Tinnitus is a prevalent condition among different populations. As the nature of tinnitus is subjective, self-reported measures have been validated and utilized to assess psychometric properties of tinnitus patients. Without exception, Chinese clinicians have administered these measures to patients in mainland China after cross-cultural adaptation. However, shortcomings of these Mandarin measures limited the widespread use of them. Measures which can be fully adapted to the context of Chinese tinnitus patients are still needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Mandarin Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (TPFQ-M) in a Chinese population.In this observational questionnaire study, we recruited 350 subjects with primary tinnitus from hearing clinics of West China Hospital and administered the TPFQ-M, Mandarin Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI-M), and a systematic hearing test battery.The subjects finished the TPFQ-M within 3 minutes. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a 4-factor model was close to fit. The Cronbach alpha of TPFQ-M was 0.925, and test-retest reliability was reasonable with a 7-day test interval (ICC = 0.857, P < .001; 95% CI: 0.764–0.915). Test-retest reliabilities of subdomains were not parallel to each other, with 0.612 for Emotion, 0.766 for Sleep, 0.860 for Concentration, and 0.897 for Hearing. The convergent validity of TPFQ-M compared to the THI-M was moderate (r = 0.705, P < .001; 95% CI: 0.647–0.754).The TPFQ-M, which shows high internal consistency and good factor structure, is simple and relatively easy to administer in busy clinics. Additional in-depth research involving multiple centers in mainland China is warranted.