The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory: a study of validity and reliability

Our aim was to compose a Turkish version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). Each of two individuals independently translated and retranslated the English version of the THI, and it was adapted by an expert team. The Turkish version of the THI was completed by 110 tinnitus patients. We assessed the internal consistency and reliability of the Turkish version by Cronbach's alpha. We assessed test-retest reliability with a second investigation in 21 patients. We assessed construct validity by analyzing the patients according to their age and to tinnitus duration. Internal validity was tested by multi-item analysis, to assess item convergence and discriminant validity. We obtained high internal consistency and reliability with the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.88) and high intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC, 0.78-0.90). Test-retest correlation coefficient scores were highly significant. The Turkish version of the THI is a highly consistent and reliable measure that can be used in evaluating symptoms in tinnitus patients.