Tinnitus reaction questionnaire: psychometric properties of a measure of distress associated with tinnitus.

The development of the Tinnitus Reaction Questionnaire (TRQ), a scale designed to assess the psychological distress associated with tinnitus, is described. Psychometric analyses of the TRQ are examined with a total of 156 subjects in three separate samples. The results indicate very good test-retest reliability (r = .88) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .96). Factor analysis yielded four factors that were interpreted as General Distress, Interference, Severity, and Avoidance. Moderate to high correlations were found between the TRQ and clinician ratings (r = .67) and self-report measures of anxiety and depression (r = .58-.87), but a low correlation was found with neuroticism (r = .27). It is concluded that the TRQ provides a useful index of distress related to tinnitus for subject selection and clinical assessment and has potential as a measure of change in coping ability.