Get Tinnitus Severity Scale

The THI is a 25-item test which quantifies the perceived severity of tinnitus on a scale of 0–100. Score ranges are associated with different severity levels (e.g. 0–16 slight tinnitus, 58–76 severe).

These questionnaires may be used to identify specific areas of a patient's life that are affected by tinnitus as well as to monitor a patient's progress with a particular treatment.

Skarzynski Tinnitus Scale is a brief and robust tool that is very useful for clinical practice. A great advantage of the STS is that it takes into account the impact of tinnitus on both the psychological (emotional, cognitive) and functional domains and the patient's ability to cope with tinnitus-related distress.

The TSI is a measure of how much tinnitus negatively impacts a patient's life and how bothersome patients perceive their tinnitus to be. Numerous studies in our clinic (and others around the world) have consistently shown that the matched pitch and loudness of tinnitus are not correlated with its severity.

Tinnitus is most commonly measured using psychoacoustic methods that estimate or modulate the “acoustic properties” of tinnitus, or by self-report scales and questionnaires. Psychoacoustic methods2 present sounds that are matched in pitch or loudness level to a person's tinnitus.

These questionnaires may be used to identify specific areas of a patient's life that are affected by tinnitus as well as to monitor a patient's progress with a particular treatment.

The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI; Newman et al., 1996) is a 25-item self-report measure to determine perceived tinnitus handicap severity. The THI is a useful measure for determining the efficacy of psychological treatment for tinnitus (Zeman et al., 2011).