HIT-6 Calculator: Headache Impact Test Score

Take the 6-question Headache Impact Test and get your HIT-6 score, impact band and next steps in about a minute.

By Cerebral Torque

Published Updated 3 min read

Skipper the brain mascot pointing at a headache impact gauge, for the HIT-6 calculator
On this page · 6 sections
  1. How the HIT-6 is scored
  2. What your HIT-6 score means
  3. Tracking change with the HIT-6
  4. Frequently asked questions
  5. More free migraine tools
  6. References

The HIT-6 (Headache Impact Test) is a 6-question survey that measures how much headaches affect your daily life: pain, energy, mood, focus and getting things done. Itโ€™s used in headache clinics and in many modern migraine trials, and it works for both episodic and chronic migraine. Answer the questions below to get your score.

Loading the calculator. If it doesnโ€™t appear, check that JavaScript is turned on. The guide below lets you work it out by hand.

How the HIT-6 is scored

Each question has 5 answers, and each answer is worth a set number of points:

Answer Points
Never 6
Rarely 8
Sometimes 10
Very often 11
Always 13

Add the 6 answers together for a total between 36 and 78. Higher means more impact.

What your HIT-6 score means

HIT-6 score Impact
49 or less Little or no impact
50 to 55 Some impact
56 to 59 Substantial impact
60 to 78 Severe impact

These are the standard HIT-6 scoring bands. In a validation study of more than 2,000 people, those with migraine averaged around 60 to 62, while people with other kinds of headache averaged about 49 (Yang et al., 2011). A score of 56 or higher means headaches are taking a real toll, and itโ€™s a good moment to ask whether your treatment, including prevention, is doing enough.

Tracking change with the HIT-6

Because it looks back 4 weeks, the HIT-6 is handy for checking progress month to month. The American Headache Society counts a drop of 5 points or more as a meaningful improvement when deciding whether to keep going with a CGRP preventive, and it makes a reasonable yardstick for any preventive. The calculator saves your score on this device, so next time youโ€™ll see how much it moved.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good HIT-6 score?

A score of 49 or lower means headaches have little or no impact on your life. The lowest possible score is 36, which means you answered โ€œneverโ€ to every question.

Is a HIT-6 score of 60 bad?

A score of 60 or more is in the severe impact band. It means headaches are getting in the way of daily life a lot of the time. Bring the score to your doctor and ask directly about preventive treatment.

How much does the HIT-6 need to change to matter?

A drop of 5 points or more is generally treated as meaningful. The American Headache Society uses that cut-off when deciding whether a CGRP preventive is worth continuing.

Whatโ€™s the difference between the HIT-6 and the MIDAS?

The HIT-6 asks how often headaches affect you, over the last 4 weeks. The MIDAS counts days lost to headache over 3 months. Using both gives a fuller picture.

Can I use the HIT-6 for headaches that arenโ€™t migraine?

Yes. The HIT-6 was built for headache in general, though most of the research on it is in migraine.

More free migraine tools

References

  1. Kosinski M, Bayliss MS, Bjorner JB, et al. A six-item short-form survey for measuring headache impact: the HIT-6. Qual Life Res. 2003;12(8):963-974. PubMed
  2. Yang M, Rendas-Baum R, Varon SF, Kosinski M. Validation of the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) across episodic and chronic migraine. Cephalalgia. 2011;31(3):357-367. PubMed
  3. Ailani J, Burch RC, Robbins MS; Board of Directors of the American Headache Society. The American Headache Society Consensus Statement: Update on integrating new migraine treatments into clinical practice. Headache. 2021;61(7):1021-1039. PubMed
  4. American Headache Society. The American Headache Society position statement on integrating new migraine treatments into clinical practice. Headache. 2019;59(1):1-18. PubMed

HIT-6 is ยฉ QualityMetric Incorporated and the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies. Itโ€™s shown here for personal self-assessment. This tool is for education and to help you talk with your doctor. It doesnโ€™t diagnose anything and isnโ€™t medical advice. Your answers stay in your browser and are never sent to Cerebral Torque.

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Guided practice

Alternate nostril breathing

A 5-minute guided practice for migraine prevention, from Unraveling Migraine. Captions are built into the video.

  • Prevention, not a rescue. Keep your usual medicine for migraine attacks.
  • Daily practice is what counts. The study behind it used 3 short sessions a day for 3 months.
  • Skip it or stop if your nose is blocked or it starts to feel like a strain.
Read the full guide and the research