Factor Analysis of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory

Abstract

The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI; C. W. Newman, G. P. Jacobson, & J. B. Spitzer, 1996) is widely used in a clinical context to assess tinnitus-related self-reported handicap and to report treatment outcomes. Test-retest reliability has been reported to be high, and high convergent validity with other measures of tinnitus distress has been reported. Factor analysis of the subscales of the THI has previously been reported for a Danish translation, but not for the English version. In the present study, the THI was factor analyzed using data collected from a group of 80 clinical tinnitus patients and 116 patients with unilateral vestibular schwannoma. The factor analysis yielded strong support for a unifactorial structure of the scale, with a majority of items loading on the first factor, and high internal consistency of the total score. The authors recommend use of the total score in research and in clinical practice.