title: Tinnitus Functional Index: Development, validation, outcomes research, and clinical application.
abstract: The Tinnitus Research Consortium (TRC) issued a Request for Proposals in 2003 to develop a new tinnitus outcome measure that would: (1) be highly sensitive to treatment effects (validated for "responsiveness"); (2) address all major dimensions of tinnitus impact; and (3) be validated for scaling the negative impact of tinnitus. A grant was received by M. Meikle to conduct the study. In that observational study, all of the TRC objectives were met, with the final 25-item Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) containing eight subscales. The study was published in 2012, and since then the TFI has received increasing international use and is being translated into at least 14 languages. The present study utilized data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that involved testing the efficacy of "telephone tinnitus education" as intervention for bothersome tinnitus. These data were used to confirm results from the original TFI study. Overall, the TFI performed well in the RCT with Cohen's d being 1.23. There were large differences between the eight different subscales, ranging from a mean 13.2-point reduction (for the Auditory subscale) to a mean 26.7-point reduction (for the Relaxation subscale). Comparison of TFI performance was made with the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. All of the results confirmed sensitivity of the TFI along with its subscales. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled <Tinnitus>.
authors.affiliation: VA RR&D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA. Electronic address: james.henry@va.gov.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: VA RR&D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Griest
authors.affiliation: VA RR&D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thielman
authors.affiliation: VA RR&D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Garnett
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McMillan
authors.affiliation: VA RR&D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kaelin
authors.affiliation: VA HSR&D Center of Innovation, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, USA; Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy
keywords: Randomized controlled trial; Tinnitus assessment; Tinnitus dimensions; Tinnitus distress; Tinnitus severity