Background: So far there has been no adequate measure to assess or illustrate, in terms of different levels, subjective distress related to hypersensitivity to sound.
Method and patients: The here presented work describes and discusses the construction of a questionnaire to assess subjective distress related to hypersensitivity to sound (GUF). Between May and September 2000 226 patients that experienced suffering from hypersensitivity to sound as well as from chronic tinnitus, completed a first version of the questionnaire on admittance to the hospital. Of these patients 27.9 % were out-patients and 72.1 % were in-patients. In addition, the in-patients completed the questionnaire again during their last week of treatment. The 27 items of the GUF were interpreted by factor analysis to explore and determine the structure of the questionnaire; the number of items was reduced under the aspects of consistency and reliability. Finally, the revised version of the GUF underwent a first validation.
Results: The factor analysis shows three factors explaining 50.65 % variance (factor 1 [KRH], cognitive reactions to hyperacusis; factor 2 [ASV], actional/somatic behaviour; factor 3 [ERG], emotional reaction to external noises). First attempts to validate the questionnaire are promising; it appears that the GUF is also sensitive to therapy effects.
Conclusions: The here presented questionnaire is suitable for identifying distinct levels of subjective distress related to hypersensitivity to sound. Thus, for the first time, there is an adequate measure for assessment available. Furthermore, results of part of the sample show that the GUF is also suitable for therapy evaluation.