Translation and adaptation of three English tinnitus patient-reported outcome measures to Spanish.
Vinaya Manchaiah, María F Muñoz, Elia Hatfield and 4 others
PMID 31994949WHAT IT FOUND
Spanish versions of three tinnitus questionnaires were created using rigorous guidelines.
Field testing with 15 adults showed most items were understood easily, though some words caused minor confusion. These tools are now available for assessing Spanish-speaking patients.
Key findings
01The translation process followed international guidelines to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness.
02Field testing with 15 adults revealed that most participants found the questionnaires easy to complete, with only minor misunderstandings of specific words.
03The Spanish Tinnitus and Hearing Survey was rated as very easy by all participants, while the Tinnitus Cognition Questionnaire was rated difficult by some due to length and item complexity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The field testing sample was small (15 participants) and recruited via convenience sampling from a single university clinic, limiting generalizability. The study focused on translation and comprehension, not on validating the psychometric properties (such as reliability or validity) of the Spanish versions. The TQQ is a recently developed measure whose validation studies were still underway at the time of this translation. Participants did not report tiredness, but the TCQ was rated difficult by some, suggesting potential burden for this specific measure.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health. No other conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these Spanish questionnaires are clinically validated or equivalent to the English versions in terms of diagnostic accuracy. The study tested comprehension and ease of use, not the psychometric properties or the ability of these tools to predict treatment outcomes.