Tinnitus in Children Questionnaire
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Validation of a novel questionnaire measure of tinnitus in children
IRAS ID
275112
Contact name
Harriet Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Univeristy of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 28 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the ears or head without any outside source. Research suggests a significant number of children experience tinnitus that has a negative impact on day-to-day life and wellbeing. Despite this, tinnitus in children is a relatively unrecognised problem and treatments and health services for children are far less established versus those available for adults. To be able to care for children with tinnitus, health professionals need to identify and measure the problems the child has, both to find out how severe their problems are and to assess whether treatment has had an effect. Clinical questionnaires are used to measure tinnitus impact in adults. However, to date, there has been no questionnaire measure of tinnitus developed for use with children.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the measurement properties of a newly-developed, questionnaire measure of tinnitus impact in children (aged 8-16). Children with tinnitus aged 8-16 will be invited to take part in one of two study phases: i) Phases A will involve a series of pen and paper questionnaires and ii) Phase B will be an online questionnaire. Children will be recruited through children’s NHS tinnitus services and through non-clinical routes such as research databases and social media. The data from both studies will be analysed using specialist statistical methods for questionnaire development. Findings will tell us how well the questionnaire is working and will inform improvements to the questionnaire.
The new questionnaire will help health professionals measure the impact tinnitus is having on the child. This will support decisions about treatment options and confirm if treatment is working. Widespread use of the tool will encourage consistency in assessment practices across services. This project is part of a PhD study funded by the British Tinnitus Association.
Summary of Results
We recently developed the first questionnaire measure of the impact tinnitus has on children, the Impact of Tinnitus in Children Questionnaire, or iTICQ. The questionnaire was designed to be self-completed by children aged 8-16 who have tinnitus. The aim of this study was to test that new questionnaire to determine whether it is reliable for use in tinnitus clinics and other settings such as clinical trials. The study involved 33 children completing the new questionnaire and other standard paediatric health questionnaires online. We then compared how children responded on the different questionnaires. Overall, we found that the iTICQ appears to be a reliable measure that is specific to tinnitus-related problems. Large-scale studies involving hundreds of children are now required to fully test how well works and what changes in scores truly reflect changes that are clinical meaningful, that is, represent real improvements of worsening of tinnitus-related problems.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0313
Date of REC Opinion
6 May 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion