Sensitivity to change and convergent validity of the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) and the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ): Clinical and research perspectives

Jacquemin, Laure; Mertens, Griet; Heyning, Paul Van de; Vanderveken, Olivier M.; Topsakal, Vedat; Hertogh, Willem De; Michiels, Sarah; Rompaey, Vincent Van; Gilles, Annick

doi:10.1016/j.heares.2019.107796

Cited by 37 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This makes the TFI potentially more sensitive than the TQ to smaller differences in tinnitus severity. This difference in sensitivity to change was also pointed out by Jacquemin et al [29]. On the other hand, the TQ is designed to measure tinnitus annoyance, whereas the TFI is used to measure tinnitus severity.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Additionally, the total score can be used to create four groups based on the degree of tinnitus-related distress: Degree 1 (slight) up to 30 points, degree 2 (mediocre) between 31 and 46 points, degree 3 (severe) between 47 and 59 points, and degree 4 (extremely severe) between 60 and 84 points. The TQ showed a good correlation with the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, Tinnitus Impairment Questionnaire, and Tinnitus Functional Index (0.79-0.90) [28,29]. A decrease of 8.72 points is considered clinically relevant [28].…”

Section: Primary Outcome Measurementioning

confidence: 87%

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Treatment of Somatosensory Tinnitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial Studying the Effect of Orofacial Treatment as Part of a Multidisciplinary Program

Wal

Michiels

Heyning

et al. 2020

JCM

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Background: Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is a perception of sound in the absence of overt acoustic stimulation. In some cases, tinnitus can be influenced by temporomandibular somatosensory input, then called temporomandibular somatosensory tinnitus (TST). It is, however, not entirely known if orofacial treatment can decrease tinnitus severity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of orofacial treatment on tinnitus complaints in patients with TST. Methods: Adult patients with TST were included, and all patients received information and advice about tinnitus and conservative orofacial treatment consisting of physical therapy, and, in case of grinding, occlusal splints were applied. Included patients were randomly assigned to an early start group and a delayed start group according to our delayed treatment design. Results: In total, 40 patients were included in each group. The treatment effect on tinnitus severity was investigated using the tinnitus questionnaire (TQ) and Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI). Regarding the TQ score, no clinically relevant reductions were observed, and no significant differences in the decrease were observed between the early start group and delayed start group. Contrarily, a significantly higher percentage of patients showed a decrease in the TQ degree in the early start group compared to the delayed start group (30.0% versus 2.8%, p = 0.006). The TFI score did show a significantly greater and clinically relevant reduction in the early start group compared to the delayed start group (p = 0.042). Conclusion: A multidisciplinary non-invasive orofacial treatment was able to reduce tinnitus severity in patients with temporomandibular related somatosensory tinnitus.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Primary Outcome Measurementioning

confidence: 87%

Treatment of Somatosensory Tinnitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial Studying the Effect of Orofacial Treatment as Part of a Multidisciplinary Program

Wal

Michiels

Heyning

et al. 2020

JCM

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“…Within this measurement landscape, there have been calls for a harmonization of measures to facilitate standardization and comparability of both construct operationalizations and treatment effects (Hall et al, 2016). For example, previous work demonstrated acceptable-to-high convergent validity between the total scores of the TQ | THI (Baguley et al, 2000;Robinson et al, 2003;Zeman et al, 2012), TFI | THI (Fackrell et al, 2016), and TQ | TFI, respectively (Jacquemin et al, 2019). Investigating the questionnaires' performances across different timepoints, only minor differences were reported when examining [a] testretest statistics for the TQ and THI (Baguley et al, 2000;Zeman et al, 2012) or [b] the effects of a High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) treatment on the TQ and TFI (HD-tDCS;Jacquemin et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

All for One and One for All? – Examining Convergent Validity and Responsiveness of the German Versions of the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ), Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), and Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI)

et al. 2021

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BackgroundMeasurement of tinnitus-related distress and treatment responsiveness is key in understanding, conceptualizing and addressing this often-disabling symptom. Whilst several self-report measures exist, the heterogeneity of patient populations, available translations, and treatment contexts requires ongoing psychometric replication and validation efforts.ObjectiveTo investigate the convergent validity and responsiveness of the German versions of the Tinnitus Questionnaire [TQ], Tinnitus Handicap Inventory [THI], and Tinnitus Functional Index [TFI] in a large German-speaking sample of patients with chronic tinnitus who completed a psychologically anchored 7-day Intensive Multimodal Treatment Programme.MethodsTwo-hundred-and-ten patients with chronic tinnitus completed all three questionnaires at baseline and post-treatment. Intraclass correlation coefficients determined the convergent validity of each questionnaire’s total and subscale scores. Treatment responsiveness was investigated by [a] comparing treatment-related change in responders vs. non-responders as classified by each questionnaire’s minimal clinically important difference-threshold, and [b] comparing agreement between the questionnaires’ responder classifications.ResultsThe total scores of all three questionnaires showed high agreement before and after therapy (TQ | THI: 0.80 [Pre], 0.83 [Post], TQ | TFI: 0.72 [Pre], 0.78 [Post], THI | TFI: 0.76 [Pre] 0.80 [Post]). All total scores changed significantly with treatment yielding small effect sizes. The TQ and TFI yielded comparable (19.65 and 18.64%) and the THI higher responder rates (38.15%). The TQ | THI and TQ | TFI showed fair, and the THI | TFI moderate agreement of responder classifications. Independent of classification, responders showed significantly higher change rates than non-responders across most scores. Each questionnaire’s total change score distinguished between responders and non-responders as classified by the remaining two questionnaires.ConclusionThe total scores of all three questionnaires show high convergent validity and thus, comparability across clinical and research contexts. By contrast, subscale scores show high inconsistency. Whilst the TFI appears well suited for research purposes, the THI may be better suited to measure psychological aspects of tinnitus-related distress and their changes with accordingly focused treatment approaches.

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“…The impact of tinnitus on quality of life and the extent of accompanying symptoms are usually probed using questionnaires, such as the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ), the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) [16][17][18]. The TFI, especially, has proven to be useful to assess therapy effects while maintaining good validity for discriminative purposes [19,20]. Questionnaires can be acquired rapidly and with good reliability and validity, and usually require little or no examiner involvement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic review and meta-analysis of late auditory evoked potentials as a candidate biomarker in the assessment of tinnitus

et al. 2020

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Subjective tinnitus, the perception of sound in the absence of any sound source, is routinely assessed using questionnaires. The subjective nature of these tools hampers objective evaluation of tinnitus presence, severity and treatment effects. Late auditory evoked potentials (LAEPs) might be considered as a potential biomarker for assessing tinnitus complaints. Using a multivariate meta-analytic model including data from twenty-one studies, we determined the LAEP components differing systematically between tinnitus patients and controls. Results from this model indicate that amplitude of the P300 component is lower in tinnitus patients (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.83, p < 0.01), while latency of this component is abnormally prolonged in this population (SMD = 0.97, p < 0.01). No other investigated LAEP components were found to differ between tinnitus and non-tinnitus subjects. Additional sensitivity analyses regarding differences in experimental conditions confirmed the robustness of these results. Differences in age and hearing levels between the two experimental groups might have a considerable impact on LAEP outcomes and should be carefully considered in future studies. Although we established consistent differences in the P300 component between tinnitus patients and controls, we could not identify any evidence that this component might covary with tinnitus severity. We conclude that out of several commonly assessed LAEP components, only the P300 can be considered as a potential biomarker for subjective tinnitus, although more research is needed to determine its relationship with subjective tinnitus measures. Future trials investigating experimental tinnitus therapies should consider including P300 measurements in the evaluation of treatment effect.

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Sensitivity to change and convergent validity of the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) and the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ): Clinical and research perspectives

Cited by 37 publications

References 32 publications

Treatment of Somatosensory Tinnitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial Studying the Effect of Orofacial Treatment as Part of a Multidisciplinary Program

Treatment of Somatosensory Tinnitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial Studying the Effect of Orofacial Treatment as Part of a Multidisciplinary Program

All for One and One for All? – Examining Convergent Validity and Responsiveness of the German Versions of the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ), Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), and Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI)

Systematic review and meta-analysis of late auditory evoked potentials as a candidate biomarker in the assessment of tinnitus

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