[Tinnitus annoyance assessed by the tinnitus handicap inventory].

OBJECTIVE The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory is a questionnaire for assessing the impact of tinnitus by quantifying psychoemotional and functional problems it causes. The objective of the study was to validate the Brazilian Portuguese translation of this questionnaire, named Questionario de Gravidade do Zumbido. METHODS The questionnaire was applied to 135 individuals with tinnitus from two audiology clinics in Bauru, Southeastern Brazil, referred for audiologic evaluation. Its internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach'fs alpha coefficients comparing the Brazilian version to the original instrument. RESULTS It was found good reliability for scales (0.76<alpha<0.85) and for the whole questionnaire, which global consistency value (alpha=0.93) was identical to the original instrument. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the Brazilian version of the questionnaire can be used in clinical practice to evaluate day-to-day difficulties caused by tinnitus in individuals who are aware of that.