title: Hypersensitivity to sound in tinnitus patients: an analysis of a construct based on questionnaire and audiological data.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyse the Questionnaire on Hypersensitivity to Sound (GUF; Nelting & Finlayson, 2004 ) and to improve its validity based on the analysis of intercorrelations (single item level) with other methods of assessing hyperacusis (uncomfortable loudness level, individual loudness function, self-rated severity of hyperacusis). Subjects consisted of 91 inpatients with tinnitus and hyperacusis. The GUF showed a good reliability (alpha = .92). The factorial structure of the questionnaire reported by Nelting et al (2002) was not completely supported by the evidence in this study. The total score and the single items showed small to moderate correlations with the other modes of measuring hyperacusis. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity were found, but overall the results corroborate the conceptual heterogeneity of the construct hyperacusis and its dependency on the assessment method. Four items of the GUF with particularly low correlations were excluded from the questionnaire. The revised GUF total score showed slightly but not statistically significant higher convergent and discriminant validity.
authors.affiliation: Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany. lblaesi@uni-goettingen.de
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bläsing
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Goebel
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Flötzinger
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berthold
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kröner-Herwig
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001298:Audiology; D001299:Audiometry; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D012001:Hyperacusis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000150:complications*; D055815:Young Adult