Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation to Brazilian Portuguese of the Tinnitus Functional Index Questionnaire

Abstract

Introduction Tinnitus affects a large portion of the world's population. There are several questionnaires being used for the evaluation of the severity of tinnitus and its impact in quality of life; however, they do not measure treatment-related changes. So, a new self-reported questionnaire was developed, the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), which has been translated into several languages. Objective To perform the translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the TFI questionnaire for Brazilian Portuguese. Method This is a multicenter project divided into two stages: translation and cultural adaptation; and validation and reliability. For the validation, the Brazilian Portuguese version of the TFI was correlated with the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) domains for tinnitus and quality of life and was evaluated by the Spearman ρ test. The reliability and internal consistency were evaluated by the Cronbach α test. Result The Brazilian version of the TFI was obtained through an initial translation process, synthesis of translations, backtranslation and evaluation by a committee of experts. This version was then applied in 88 patients complaining of tinnitus from speech therapy and otorhinolaryngology outpatient clinics of the three school clinics. The Brazilian version presented high reliability, as evidenced by the Cronbach α value (α = 0.870), and strong correlation (rho = 0.760 and p = 0.000). Conclusion The high reliability found in the results demonstrates that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the TFI is a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate the severity and impact of tinnitus on quality of life and changes related to its treatment.

Translation and validation of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire into Brazilian Portuguese

“…Therefore, the THI was chosen, because it is a widely studied and validated questionnaire, used in and translated into several languages, aiming to assess the severity of tinnitus. 14 , 25 …”

“…In 2021, the validation into Brazilian Portuguese of the Tinnitus Function Index Questionnaire (TFI) which assesses tinnitus in eight subscales, was published. 14 The main purpose of the TFI questionnaire is to determine symptom severity, in addition to monitoring pre- and post-therapeutic intervention clinical outcome. 15 , 16…”

“…While several questionnaires for tinnitus assessment are available in English, very few are available in Brazilian Portuguese. The THI was developed in 1996 by Newman et al 32 ; in 2005, it was translated and culturally adapted into Brazilian Portuguese by Ferreira et al 32 and validated for Brazilian Portuguese, in 2006, by Schmidt et al 13 Recently, Rosa et al 14 validated the Tinnitus Functional Index Questionnaire (TFI), which assesses tinnitus in eight subscales. The main purpose of the TFI questionnaire is to determine the severity of the symptom, in addition to monitoring pre- and post-therapeutic intervention clinical outcome.…”

“…The main purpose of the TFI questionnaire is to determine the severity of the symptom, in addition to monitoring pre- and post-therapeutic intervention clinical outcome. 14 However, given the high prevalence of tinnitus in the Brazilian population, 3 it is essential to have other tools to assess the severity of tinnitus and guide the best treatment and counseling approach. Therefore, in the present study, the TPFQ was submitted to translation, cultural adaptation and validation into Brazilian Portuguese.…”

Tradução, adaptação cultural e validação do Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire e tradução e adaptação cultural do Iowa Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire

“…No Brasil atualmente existem apenas dois questionários disponíveis para uso na prática clínica e em pesquisas clínicas, apesar de ser um país com uma prevalência elevada de zumbido (Oiticica, Bittar, 2015). (Rosa et al, 2021).…”