Network analysis of the tinnitus functional index (TFI)

Objective We examined the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), a commonly-used scale assessing the impact of tinnitus disorder on daily activities using network psychometrics.Design Nodes represented the 25 TFI items, and connections represented correlations between items, forming a web-like network of tinnitus disorder.Study Sample 931 people with tinnitus who completed the TFI.Results Metrics at the micro-level (measuring individual nodes) identified 5 “important” items with high closeness centrality to target for future interventions. Metrics at the meso-level (subsets of nodes in the network) identified communities of well-connected items that recreated the original 8 subscales of the TFI. Further analysis at the meso-level suggests the Auditory subscale may be an important factor for future research on tinnitus disorder.Conclusions Other ways the network approach may advance the speech-language-hearing sciences are discussed.