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Article

The Short Hyperacusis Questionnaire: A Tool for the Identification and Measurement of Hyperacusis in the Italian Tinnitus Population

by
Federica Tortorella
1,*,
Silva Pavaci
1,
Alessandra Barbara Fioretti
2,
Francesco Masedu
1,
Maria Lauriello
1 and
Alberto Eibenstein
1,2
1
Department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnology, L’Aquila University, L’Aquila, Italy
2
Tinnitus Center, European Hospital, Rome, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Audiol. Res. 2017, 7(2), 61-66; https://doi.org/10.4081/audiores.2017.182
Submission received: 12 May 2017 / Revised: 12 May 2017 / Accepted: 10 August 2017 / Published: 2 October 2017

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the collapsibility of the Italian version of Khalfa’s hyperacusis questionnaire (HQ). We identified the more statistically significant items of the HQ and created the short hyperacusis questionnaire (SHQ). We recruited 117 consecutive outpatients with a primary complaint of tinnitus at least from 3 months. All patients filled in the complete Italian version of the HQ and underwent an audiological examination including uncomfortable loudness levels (ULLs). A logistic model was carried out getting odds ratios (ORs) estimates of hyperacusis according to the items responses. To create the SHQ, we selected six items that were the only ones to present a statistically significant ORs value different from 1. The internal consistency of the SHQ was assessed by means of Cronbach α index. A ROC analysis was performed and an optimal cut-off point was found using the Youden index. Our analysis showed a Cronbach α of 0.67. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), expression of the overall performance of the SHQ versus the ULLs test, was statistically significant (P<0.05). We found a cut-off of 0.24 as indicative of hyperacusis (sensitivity (Se) = 78.79%, specificity (Sp) = 42.50%). SHQ could be useful only in the initial screening of individuals with hyperacusis. We suggest further studies for the validation of a new questionnaire on hyperacusis.
Keywords: Hyperacusis; questionnaire; tinnitus; uncomfortable loudness levels (ULLs); Khalfa Hyperacusis; questionnaire; tinnitus; uncomfortable loudness levels (ULLs); Khalfa

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Tortorella, F.; Pavaci, S.; Fioretti, A.B.; Masedu, F.; Lauriello, M.; Eibenstein, A. The Short Hyperacusis Questionnaire: A Tool for the Identification and Measurement of Hyperacusis in the Italian Tinnitus Population. Audiol. Res. 2017, 7, 61-66. https://doi.org/10.4081/audiores.2017.182

AMA Style

Tortorella F, Pavaci S, Fioretti AB, Masedu F, Lauriello M, Eibenstein A. The Short Hyperacusis Questionnaire: A Tool for the Identification and Measurement of Hyperacusis in the Italian Tinnitus Population. Audiology Research. 2017; 7(2):61-66. https://doi.org/10.4081/audiores.2017.182

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tortorella, Federica, Silva Pavaci, Alessandra Barbara Fioretti, Francesco Masedu, Maria Lauriello, and Alberto Eibenstein. 2017. "The Short Hyperacusis Questionnaire: A Tool for the Identification and Measurement of Hyperacusis in the Italian Tinnitus Population" Audiology Research 7, no. 2: 61-66. https://doi.org/10.4081/audiores.2017.182

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