Usefulness of self-report questionnaires for psychological assessment of patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis and patients’ views of the questionnaires

Abstract

Objective: The objective was to determine the relevance and applicability of psychological questionnaires to patients seeking help for tinnitus and/or hyperacusis. Design: This was a questionnaire-based survey. The following questionnaires were administered: Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI), Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN), Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R), Panic Disorder Severity Scale-Self Report (PDSS-SR), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Penn State Worry Questionnaire-Abbreviated version (PSWQ-A). In addition, a patient feedback questionnaire was completed asking about the extent to which each questionnaire was relevant to them and how strongly they would recommend its use in the assessment of patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis. Study Sample: A total of 150/402 consecutive patients seen in a one-year period completed the questionnaires. Results: 65% of patients had abnormal scores for one or more of the questionnaires. All questionnaires except the PDSS-SR were rated as relevant and recommended for use. Conclusions: The GAD-7, SHAI, Mini-SPIN, OCI-R, PSWQ-A and PHQ-9 are recommended for evaluation of psychological problems for patients seeking help for tinnitus and/or hyperacusis. Abnormal results on these questionnaires may indicate the need for referral for possible treatment of psychological problems.

Key Words:

• Tinnitus
• hyperacusis
• psychological assessment
• mental health
• patients’ views

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Jills Kurian, Peter Athawes, Viveka Owen, Parisa Eghbal, Shanice Warner and Joseph Perry for their help in data collection. We also thank the reviewers for their helpful comments.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.