Guidelines for the grading of tinnitus severity: the results of a working group commissioned by the British Association of Otolaryngologists, Head and Neck Surgeons, 1999

Abstract

Tinnitus is a common experience with up to one third of the adult population experiencing it at some time in their life. Less than 1% of the adult population have tinnitus of sufficient severity to affect their quality of life seriously (although up to 8% may seek medical advice about it). Much of the severity of tinnitus relates to the individuals' psychological response to the abnormal tinnitus signal. The prevalence of tinnitus increases in association with high frequency hearing loss. There is, unfortunately, no diagnostic test that either confirms the presence of tinnitus or its severity. Currently there is no satisfactory severity grading system. A five-point severity grading scheme is therefore proposed and the entry criteria detailed. The five severity points are: slight, mild, moderate, severe and catastrophic. Categorization as 'severe' or 'catastrophic' should be, by epidemiological definition, very rare. General guidance, theory and evidential support are contained within.

The relationship of perceived severity of tinnitus with depression, anxiety, hearing status, age and gender in individuals with tinnitus

“…This finding shows that the tinnitus may be noticed even in the presence of background or environmental noise, although daily activities may still be performed and it frequently interferes with sleep and quiet activities 35 . A strong correlation resulted between THI scores and presence of anxiety/depression symptoms.…”

“…These responses are summed, with the total score ranging from 0 to 100 points. Depending on the total score the handicap caused by tinnitus could be identified as slight, mild, moderate, severe and catastrophic 35 . Testretest reliability of the THI is 0.92…”

Interação entre grau de perda auditiva e o incômodo com zumbidos em trabalhadores com história de exposição ao ruído

“…In order to assess tinnitus, we chose the Tinnitus Severity Questionnaire (TSQ) -Questionário de Gravidade do Zumbido (QGZ)14, which is the Brazilian version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory -THI15, which use is justified by the fact that it has excellent validity and high internal consistency 16,17 , besides being easy and quick to use (it takes about five minutes) and reproduce (some questionnaires have copyrights, but not this one). Some references corroborate the maintenance of an internal consistency of this tool even after translations and adaptations to other populations and languages 11,14,18 .…”

“…According to the classification proposed by McCombe et al 16 (2001), tinnitus can be: negligible (0-16%), mild (18-36%), moderate (38-56%), severe (58-76%) or catastrophic (78-100%). The 25 questions and pertaining scales which make up the TSQ are presented on Table 1.…”

Role of Intratympanic Steroids in the Management of Meniere’s Disease—A Review of 151 Cases

“…Hearing loss was assessed and quantified with audiometric testing. Tinnitus was graded with tinnitus handicap index inventory of Newmann and Mc Combe [7] [8]. The AAO-HNS criteria were used to quantify the control of vertigo: the number of definite spells of vertigo during the 6 months previous to treatment with intratympanic methylprednisolone was compared with the number of episodes 6 months after treatment.…”