What the TFI is for
The Tinnitus Functional Index is a patient-reported outcome measure developed by Meikle and colleagues for two related purposes: describing the functional impact of tinnitus at an initial assessment and monitoring change over time or after treatment.
The published measure contains 25 items grouped into eight broad areas: intrusiveness, sense of control, cognition, sleep, auditory difficulty, relaxation, quality of life, and emotional impact. It produces an overall profile of self-reported impact; it does not diagnose the cause of tinnitus, measure tinnitus loudness objectively, or replace a hearing evaluation.
How it is used clinically
NICE recommends considering the TFI for adults when assessing tinnitus impact. The 2024 VA/DoD guideline suggests validated subjective outcome measures such as the TFI or THI to monitor tinnitus management, while cautioning that questionnaires support—not replace—clinical judgment.
For longitudinal use, consistency matters. Repeating the same appropriately selected measure is generally more useful than switching among overlapping questionnaires without clinical context.
About external questionnaires
The links below leave TinniTest.org. Their publishers control availability, accessibility, privacy, suitability, and permission status. TinniTest does not proxy their forms, receive their answers, verify their scores, or imply that an external result is a diagnosis or treatment recommendation.