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Validation of the THI-12 questionnaire for international use in assessing tinnitus: a multi-centre, prospective,
Ulli S Bankstahl1, Eric P Elkin, Alexander Gebauer
1Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH Global R&D, Frankfurt, Germany. ulli.bankstahl@merz.de
Objective:
To investigate and confirm the reliability and validity of the tinnitus handicap inventory 12 (THI-12) in various countries and languages.
Design:
Prospective, observational study conducted in seven countries, using linguistically harmonized versions of the THI-12 in six languages. These were evaluated for test-retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, known-groups validity, and construct validity. Basic psychometric properties of supporting instruments were compared. Questionnaires were completed by the subjects at baseline and again after 12-30 days.
Study Sample:
Adults with a clinical diagnosis of subjective tinnitus.
Results:
An exploratory factor analysis of the THI-12 items for the U.S. study population at baseline revealed a single common factor of high eigenvalue. Confirmatory factor analysis supported this in the separate countries. Test-retest reliability was moderate to high, and the conclusions were supported by a known-groups analysis; correlations with other scales expected to support construct validity were moderate.
Conclusions:
The THI-12 total score showed acceptable psychometric properties for all countries tested. The relationships between the THI-12 and the one-month and one-week versions of the TRS and TSS were similar and convergent. The THI-12 is thus a promising diagnostic tool for assessing treatment effects in multi-cultural and multi-lingual trials on tinnitus therapy.
