Studying tinnitus in the ICF framework

Activity limitation and participation restriction (AL/PR) on account of tinnitus was studied in the ICF framework in order to understand how tinnitus restricts individuals from fulfilling social and economic obligations. The objective of the study was to study the impact of tinnitus in the framework of ICF. Twenty-one adults in the age range of 20-60 years with chronic tinnitus (>3 months) and with normal hearing sensitivity were included in the study. THI was mapped to the framework of ICF. Twenty out of twenty-five items belonged to the domains under body function and five items addressed AL/PR. Five more AL/PR items applicable to tinnitus were added to THI. The THI+ICF questionnaire tested well on test reliability (0.987) and internal consistency (0.873). Body function was significantly more affected than AL/PR (P = 0.0005). These results suggest that tinnitus does not result in significant AL/PR from the ICF perspective. Further, psycho-acoustic characteristics such as intensity, frequency of tinnitus, and time since onset of tinnitus have only minimal if any impact on AL/PR.