title: Polish Translation and Validation of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and the Tinnitus Functional Index.
abstract: Objective:The need for validated measures enabling clinicians to classify tinnitus patients according to the severity of tinnitus and screen the progress of therapies in our country led us to translate into Polish and to validate two tinnitus questionnaires, namely the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI).Design:The original English versions of the questionnaires were translated into Polish and translated back to English by three independent translators. These versions were then finalized by the authors into a Polish THI (THI-Pl) and a Polish TFI (TFI-Pl). Participants from three laryngological centers in Poland anonymously answered the THI-Pl (N= 98) and the TFI-Pl (N= 108) in addition to the Polish versions of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as a measure of self-perceived level of depression, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale to assess self-perceived quality of life. Both were used to determine discriminant validity. Two Visual Analog Scales were used to measure tinnitus annoyance and tinnitus loudness in order to determine convergent validity.Results:Similar to the original version of the THI, the THI-Pl showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.93). The exploratory factor analysis revealed that the questionnaire has a three-factorial structure that does not correspond to the original division for functional, catastrophic, and emotional subscales. Convergent and discriminant validities were confirmed. The TFI-Pl showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.96) with the reliability ranging from 0.82 to 0.95 for its different subscales. Factor analysis confirmed an eight-factorial structure with factors assigning all items to appropriate subscales reported in the original version of the questionnaire. Discriminant and convergent validities were also confirmed for the TFI-Pl.Conclusion:We translated and validated the Polish versions of the THI and the TFI to make them suitable for clinical use in Poland.
authors.affiliation: Department of Logic and Cognitive Science, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wrzosek
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, University of Medical Sciences Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Eugeniusz
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Szymiec
authors.affiliation: ENT Private Practice Gdynia, Poland.
authors.forename: Wiesława
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Klemens
authors.affiliation: Audiology and Phoniatrics Clinic, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łódź Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kotyło
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schlee
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, University of Medical Sciences Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Modrzyńska
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, University of Medical Sciences Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lang-Małecka
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acoustics, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Preis
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bulla
keywords: Polish; TFI; THI; Tinnitus Functional Index; Tinnitus Handicap Inventory; adaptation