Reliability and usability of the Turkish Tinnitus Functional Index

Objective: Standardized questionnaires are a tool to determine, compare, and investigate the severity of tinnitus. Although such questionnaires are designed for these purposes, they are also used to assess tinnitus-related changes. To solve this problem, a new survey called the tinnitus functional index (TFI) was published in 2012. This survey stated that changes related to treatment can also be monitored. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usability and reliability of the Turkish version of the TFI. Methods: This study included 100 patients who applied to our clinic and had been experiencing tinnitus for at least 6 months. First, each patient completed a TFI questionnaire and a tinnitus handicap index (THI). The TFI was administered again 1 week later. Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) and test-retest correlations were used to test the reliability of the TFI. The validity of the TFI was determined by examining correlations between the TFI and the THI in the context of criterion-dependent validity. When testing for appropriateness for factor analysis, the KaiserMeyer-Olkin (KMO) test was used to determine sample adequacy and the Bartlett test was used to check the multivariate normal distribution fit of the data. Results: The Turkish version of the TFI demonstrates a high level of reliability and a very high level of test-retest compatibility. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the TFI is valid and reliable.