Homa Arian Nahad - Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Masomeh Ruzbahani - Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Farnoush Jarollahi - Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Shohreh Jalaie - Department of Statistics, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Akram Pourbakht - Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Helnaz Mokrian - Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Parvane Mahdi - Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Amin Amali - Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Imam Khomeini Educational Complex Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abdolmajid Nodin Zadeh - Department of Architect Engineering , School of Technology And Engineering. Islamic Azad University of Bandar Abbas.

Introduction: Tinnitus is a common otologic symptom that can seriously affect a patient’s quality of life. The purpose of the present study was to translate and validate the Iowa Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire (THQ) into the Persian language, and to make it applicable as a tool for determining the effects of tinnitus on a patient’s life.   Materials and Methods: The main version of the THQ was translated into the Persian language. The agreed Persian version was administered to ۱۵۰ tinnitus patients. The validity of the Persian THQ was evaluated and internal reliability was confirmed using Cronbach’s α-coefficient. Finally, the effect of independent variables such as age, mean patient threshold, gender, and duration of tinnitus were considered in order to determine the psychometric properties of tinnitus.   Results: After an exact translation process, the Persian THQ was found to exhibit face validity. In terms of content validity, the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) reached ۱۰۰% in all but two questions. Further, in structural validity measurements, intermediate correlation with annoyance from tinnitus (r= ۰.۴۹), low correlation with duration of tinnitus (r = ۰.۳۴) and high correlation with the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire (r = ۰.۸۴) were demonstrated. Additionally, a negligible effect of gender and age was noted on degree of tinnitus handicap (P = ۰.۷۵۴ andP= ۰.۵۷۳, respectively). In the internal reliability assessment for Factors ۱, ۲, ۳, and the whole questionnaire, Cronbach`s α-coefficient was ۰.۹۵, ۰.۹۲, ۰.۲۵ and ۰.۸۸, respectively.   Conclusion:  The Persian version of the Iowa THQ demonstrates high validity and reliability and can be used for the determination of tinnitus handicap and for following-up in the intervention process in Persian tinnitus patients.

Validity, Reliability, Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire, Persian, Translation