Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol.  2015 Sep;8(3):198-201. 10.3342/ceo.2015.8.3.198.

Validation of a Korean Version of the Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire

• Jun HJ
• Yoo IW
• Hwang SJ
• Hwang SY

• KMID: 2117511
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3342/ceo.2015.8.3.198

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The goal of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the tinnitus handicap questionnaire (THQ-K).
METHODS
A total of 60 patients were included in this study. Patients responded to the THQ-K, the tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), Beck's depression index (BDI), and the visual analogue scale (VAS) for loudness and pitch, loudness match, and minimum masking level (MML) test were performed.
RESULTS
Internal consistency of the THQ-K was examined using Cronbach coefficient alpha. Cronbach alpha was 0.96. The THQ-K showed a significant correlation with THI, BDI, VAS for distress, and VAS for loudness, but no significant correlation with psychoacoustic measurement of tinnitus, such as loudness match, pitch match, and MML.
CONCLUSION
The THQ-K is a reliable and valid test for evaluating the degree of handicap due to tinnitus for both research and clinical use.

Keyword

Tinnitus; Questionnaires; Validity and Reliability

MeSH Terms

Depression
Humans
Masks
Psychoacoustics
Reproducibility of Results
Tinnitus*

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