Objectives: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the tinnitus handicap questionnaire (THQ-K).
Methods: A total of 60 patients were included in this study. Patients responded to the THQ-K, the tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), Beck's depression index (BDI), and the visual analogue scale (VAS) for loudness and pitch, loudness match, and minimum masking level (MML) test were performed.
Results: Internal consistency of the THQ-K was examined using Cronbach coefficient alpha. Cronbach alpha was 0.96. The THQ-K showed a significant correlation with THI, BDI, VAS for distress, and VAS for loudness, but no significant correlation with psychoacoustic measurement of tinnitus, such as loudness match, pitch match, and MML.
Conclusion: The THQ-K is a reliable and valid test for evaluating the degree of handicap due to tinnitus for both research and clinical use.
Keywords: Questionnaires; Tinnitus; Validity and Reliability.