What is the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI)?
What is the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory?
The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory is the most commonly used questionnaire for determining tinnitus severity. It is used by audiologists in practices and by researchers in trials. The THI provides a self-report survey for audiologists to use to quickly determine the degree to which tinnitus is a problem for a patient. The THI is used in trials so the results can be compared with other studies on tinnitus intervention methods.
An example of the THI can be found on the American Tinnitus Association website. The THI is a 25 question survey with three levels of answers: Yes, Sometimes, and No. Yes corresponds to 4 points, Sometimes to 2 points, and No to 0 points. These scores are then added up to give a value out of 100 which indicates the level to which tinnitus adversely affects a person's life. The severity is broken into five grades which are detailed in the table below.
Why do the THI?
Tracking tinnitus severity doesn't need to be the sole preserve of researchers and clinicians. Patient powered health is one of the most interesting concepts to emerge from modern medicine in the last 5-10 years. It's all about patients understanding and having influence over their own healthcare. This is particularly simple in the case of tinnitus as it can be measured using non-invasive, self-report mechanisms. If individuals with tinnitus wish to track their tinnitus over a period of time they can easily do so using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) which is a feature in our iOS app.
Why should I track my THI scores?
There are two main reasons to record your THI scores over a period of time:
To examine how well a tinnitus treatment is working;
To monitor tinnitus severity, generally for discussion with your audiologist.
If you’re undertaking a new tinnitus therapy and wish to have a numerical measure of your progress, the THI is ideal. We would recommend completing it before you start the therapy and then approximately once a month throughout its use. This can help to provide a picture of the therapy’s effect on your tinnitus, with historical points of reference. Many audiologists will conduct the THI with their tinnitus patients as part of their appointment. There is value, as in the case above, in understanding the fluctuations of your tinnitus over the course of, for example, a year as many people find their tinnitus worse in winter. By completing the THI roughly once a month a longer term view is gained, and this may provide insight into tinnitus patterns for each individual. The THI results can be then discussed with your audiologist to determine the best course of action in the long term.
How can I track my THI scores?
We identified the value in THI tracking so we've built the survey into our app. Once a month users can complete the THI, using sliding scales to provide the Yes, Sometimes, and No answers. Results are displayed in a 12-month graph, showing the monthly scores in a visual way. This is particularly useful for clinicians in monitoring their patient’s tinnitus over time.
THI results can be emailed to your clinician, friends, or family. It’s hoped that this information will promote a more informed discussion with busy clinicians. This should benefit both parties in determining the best course of treatment for the person with tinnitus.
Download our app to use the THI and other tracking features we offer within the Sound Relief app. Don't forget when you sign up to a subscription, you get a 7-day free trial of Sound Relief the tinnitus sound therapy.
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