ASSESSMENT OF DISTRESS ASSOCIATED WITH TINNITUS

This paper focuses upon the quality of the Dutch translation of the ST SS (Subjective Tinnitus Severity Scale), a scale which assesses the se verity of tinnitus and the related distress. Research has been done on the psychometric qualities of this scale? its relationship with loudn ess-matching procedures and several psychological variables. Data pres ented on 104 tinnitus patients demonstrated the reliability of the STS S with a coefficient alpha of 0.71. Factor analysis revealed four fact ors: emotional distress, intrusiveness, annoyance and cognitive distre ss. With regard to the validity, significant correlations of a moderat e degree were found with several unitary subjective scales measuring t he same construct (r(s) = 0.50, p < 0.001 and r(s) = 0.43, p < 0.01). Correlational research demonstrated that the STSS is independent of th e loudness of tinnitus as measured by matching procedures (r(s) = 0.00 ). In contrast, significant correlations of a moderate magnitude were found with anxiety (r(s) = 0.33, p < 0.001) and depression (r(s) = 0.3 1, p < 0.01 and r(s) = 0.35, p < 0.001).