Development and Validation of a Shortened Severity Measurement Tool for Tinnitus

Saturday, September 28, 2024

10:00 AM – 10:06 AM EDT

Location: MBCC, 206

Disclosure(s):

Lauren E. Mueller, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Emma R. Dear, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Juan A. Turcios, MS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Harrison J. Smith, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: The Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) are widely used tinnitus severity measures. However, these questionnaires’ lengths limit the ability to administer them regularly. There is a need to develop and validate a shortened tinnitus severity measure that can meet the needs of clinicians and researchers. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the validity and reliability of the Tinnitus Severity Short Form (TSSF).

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study of survey respondents recruited in October 2021 from the American Tinnitus Association. Surveys were administered at baseline and two weeks following baseline. TSSF convergent validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency measured as Cronbach’s alpha, and test-retest reliability were evaluated. Minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was determined by the distribution approach.

Results: Of 1,121 participants, 325 participants completed the baseline TSSF. Of 325 participants, the mean age was 58 years old (SD =9.1). Participants were predominantly male (n =211, 64.9%) and Caucasian (n= 304, 94.7%). The TSSF mean score was 44.0 (SD=23.7). There were strong correlations between TSSF and THI .82 (95% CI, .79-.86) and TFI .83 (95% CI, .79-.86), demonstrating good convergent validity. There was a significant difference in TSSF scores of participants indicating no bother from tinnitus at baseline with mean TSSF of 18.9 (SD=12.4), and the bothered participants who had a TSSF mean of 48.2 (SD=22.5), demonstrating good discriminant validity. TSSF had strong internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha of 0.96. There was moderate to strong correlation between TSSF scores completed 2 weeks apart in a subset of 261 participants r = .69 (95% CI, .62-.75) indicating good test-retest reliability of the instrument. A 12-point change on the total score of the TSSF was determined as the MCID.

Conclusions: We validated and demonstrated the reliability of a shortened patient reported-outcome measure that demonstrates a scale of tinnitus severity. A shortened 9-item survey may prevent respondent survey fatigue.

Presenting Author(s)

Lauren E. Mueller, BS

Medical Student
Tulane University School of Medicine
New Orleans, LA, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Co-Author(s)

Emma R. Dear, BS

Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Juan A. Turcios, MS

Medical student
Meharry Medical College
Nashville, TN, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Harrison J. Smith, MD

Resident
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Mount Sinai/New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai
New York, NY, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
MF

Madelyn Frumkin, BS

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.

Senior Author(s)

TR

Thomas L. Rodebaugh, PhD

Professor
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
DK

Dorina Kallogjeri, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor
Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium
St Louis, Missouri, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Jay F. Piccirillo, MD

Professor, Vice Chair for Research
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.