Screening methods for assessing subjective tinnitus

Tinnitus is a fairly common symptom in both adults and children. The interdisciplinary nature of the problem and the complexity of diagnosis determine the priority of screening methods for tinnitus assessment in daily clinical practice. Questionnaires described in national and international guidelines aim not only to clarify tinnitus characteristics but also to assess the severity of tinnitus-related problems. This review article analyzes current validated instruments used for self-assessment of subjective tinnitus. Publications presented in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus over the past 30 years were reviewed. Approaches to screening for subjective tinnitus can be divided into two groups: instruments designed to clarify the severity of tinnitus and questionnaires aimed at identifying impairments in various areas of life in patients with tinnitus. Most publications, including Russian and international recommendations, describe the use of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire for self-assessment of the level of psycho-emotional disorders associated with tinnitus.