Properties (14)
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- Misophonia impact questionnaire (MIQ), tinnitus impact questionnaire (TIQ), and hyperacusis impact questionnaire (HIQ)
- (Aazh & Kula, 2025)
- Misophonia
- Tinnitus
- Hyperacusis
- Impact on life
- Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)
- minimum detectable change (MDC)
Misophonia impact questionnaire (MIQ), tinnitus impact questionnaire (TIQ), and hyperacusis impact questionnaire (HIQ): Factor analysis, test-retest reliability, and minimum detectable change using a non-clinical population
Status:: #status/Bare-bones-review
Metadata
- Item Type: #journalArticle
- Authors:: Hashir Aazh, Fatma Betul Kula,
- Date:
- Date Added: 1755660212000
- URL: https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324726
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0324726
- Cite Key: aazhMisophoniaImpactQuestionnaire2025
- Topics: [object Object]
- Tags:: #Bare-bones-review-🦴, #clinical, #measures, #Misophonia, #Misophonia-impact-Questionnaire-(MIQ),
- PDF Attachments
Abstract
| Background/Purpose | Background- • Symptom severity and life impact are distinct constructs; for example, tinnitus loudness is weakly associated with its impact. • Existing clinical measures often assess symptom severity but not the broader life impact. • MIQ, TIQ, and HIQ were developed to measure impact, not severity, and have been previously validated in clinical populations. Purpose- • Validate the unidimensional structure of MIQ, TIQ, and HIQ in a non-clinical population. • Assess test-retest reliability of the questionnaires. • Determine minimum detectable change (MDC) values for MIQ, TIQ, and HIQ to inform clinical use. |
| Participants/samples | • N = 451 for MIQ and HIQ; N = 173 for TIQ • Age range: 18–86 (M = 36.5, SD = 12.8) • 60.3% female; 69% had bachelor's or postgraduate education • Majority White British/Irish/Other (76.7%) • Recruitment via university and online charities/social media • Inclusion: ≥18 years old, English proficiency; Exclusion: cognitive/visual impairments |
| Measures | • MIQ (8 items): Emotional and behavioral impacts of misophonia (e.g., anxiety, avoidance, mood) • TIQ (7 items): Effects of tinnitus on sleep, mood, concentration, activities • HIQ (8 items): Impact of sound intolerance on relaxation, activities, mood, and fatigue • Scoring: 0–3 scale per item; total score range: MIQ/HIQ = 0–24, TIQ = 0–21 • Previously established Cronbach’s α for internal consistency (MIQ = 0.94, TIQ = 0.84, HIQ = 0.93) |
| Procedures | • Online surveys conducted via Qualtrics, spaced 2 weeks apart • Participants rated symptom impact over the last 2 weeks • CFA used to assess unidimensionality • ICC used for test-retest reliability • SEM and MDC calculated using standard formulas |
| Results | • CFA supported a one-factor model for all three questionnaires with strong factor loadings (MIQ: 0.81–0.89; TIQ: 0.70–0.88; HIQ: 0.67–0.76) • Internal consistency: α and ω = 0.93 (MIQ, TIQ), 0.91 (HIQ) • Test-retest reliability: ICC = 0.79 (MIQ), 0.94 (TIQ), 0.84 (HIQ) • MDC values: MIQ = 8, TIQ = 4, HIQ = 7 • No significant change in mean scores between tests; no age-related effects |
| Discussion/Limits | Conclusion- • MIQ, TIQ, and HIQ are robust, unidimensional measures of impact for misophonia, tinnitus, and hyperacusis respectively. • Suitable for use in both research and clinical settings, including non-clinical populations. • High internal consistency and good-to-excellent test-retest reliability support their reliability. • MDC values provide practical thresholds for interpreting clinical significance in longitudinal assessments. |
| Limitations:: | • Small test-retest sample for TIQ (N = 32); larger samples needed to confirm ICC and MDC values. • Cross-sectional design limits interpretation of sensitivity to change post-treatment. |
| Future Directions:: | • Use in longitudinal clinical trials to assess sensitivity to treatment-related change. • Establish minimally important change (MIC) values. • Evaluate psychometric properties of child versions of the questionnaires. |
| Relevance:: | • assess a measure of Misophonia along with measures for tinnitus and hyperacusis, finding all to be good measures with good internal consistency, and well suited for clinical and research applications. it also lists the minimum amount of change between repeated measures to consider it a true change ( for the MIQ it is a change of ≥ 4) • could use a deeper review should I ever choose to use one of these measures. |
Notes
key terms and concepts:
Misophonia – A condition characterized by reduced tolerance to specific trigger sounds, often causing strong emotional and physiological reactions.
Tinnitus – The perception of sound (e.g., ringing) in the absence of an external source.
Hyperacusis – An abnormal sensitivity to everyday sounds, perceived as excessively loud or painful.
Impact on life – A construct assessing how a condition affects one’s daily functioning and quality of life, distinct from symptom severity.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) – A statistical technique used to verify the factor structure of a set of observed variables.
Test-retest reliability – The consistency of participants’ responses on a measure over time.
Minimum Detectable Change (MDC) – The smallest amount of change in a questionnaire score that reflects a true change beyond measurement error.
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Clinical Utility
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Instruments are brief and self-administered—efficient for clinical and research use.
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Designed to assess impact rather than symptom severity—useful in therapy outcome tracking.
Psychometric Highlights
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Use of non-clinical sample allowed broader variability in item responses—important for validation.
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HIQ’s slightly higher RMSEA (0.06) still within acceptable limits for model fit.