Translation, Validity, and Reliability of a Persian Version of the Iowa Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire

Document Type : Original

Authors

1 Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Statistics, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

4 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Imam Khomeini Educational Complex Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

5 Department of Architect Engineering , School of Technology And Engineering. Islamic Azad University of Bandar Abbas.

Abstract

Introduction:
Tinnitus is a common otologic symptom that can seriously affect a patient’s quality of life. The purpose of the present study was to translate and validate the Iowa Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire (THQ) into the Persian language, and to make it applicable as a tool for determining the effects of tinnitus on a patient’s life.
 
Materials and Methods:
The main version of the THQ was translated into the Persian language. The agreed Persian version was administered to 150 tinnitus patients. The validity of the Persian THQ was evaluated and internal reliability was confirmed using Cronbach’s α-coefficient. Finally, the effect of independent variables such as age, mean patient threshold, gender, and duration of tinnitus were considered in order to determine the psychometric properties of tinnitus.
 
Results:
After an exact translation process, the Persian THQ was found to exhibit face validity. In terms of content validity, the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) reached 100% in all but two questions. Further, in structural validity measurements, intermediate correlation with annoyance from tinnitus (r= 0.49), low correlation with duration of tinnitus (r = 0.34) and high correlation with the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire (r = 0.84) were demonstrated. Additionally, a negligible effect of gender and age was noted on degree of tinnitus handicap (P = 0.754 and
P= 0.573, respectively). In the internal reliability assessment for Factors 1, 2, 3, and the whole questionnaire, Cronbach`s α-coefficient was 0.95, 0.92, 0.25 and 0.88, respectively.
 
Conclusion: 
The Persian version of the Iowa THQ demonstrates high validity and reliability and can be used for the determination of tinnitus handicap and for following-up in the intervention process in Persian tinnitus patients.

Keywords

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Iranian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
Volume 26, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
March and April 2014
Pages 79-87

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