108 Chapter 6 Abstract Background: The monitoring of ear-related problems has gained increasing significance due to a rising prevalence of ear problems, particularly hearing loss. The Otology Questionnaire Amsterdam (OQUA) is an ear-domain specific questionnaire developed to measure and evaluate severity and intensity of multiple ear complaints and the impact of these complaints on quality of life. It is validated to be responsive to both surgical and non-surgical interventions. In this study, we explore how ear complaints are reported across different age groups in a general Dutch population in the different age groups. These obtained normative OQUA data are intended to enhance shared decision-making consultations for patients experiencing ear complaints. Methods & Materials: A sample of 500 adults was drawn from a large panel of a Dutch research agency, stratified on categorized age groups and gender. The 95th, 75th, and 50th percentile were calculated. The 95th percentile of the distribution of scores in the normal population was taken as the threshold between a normal and abnormal score in seven age-groups, while accounting for possible effects of age and sex using zero-inflated beta-regression technique. Results: Out of 500, four patients had to be excluded because of mentioning recent visit to a ENT surgeon for an ear complaint or having an ENT diagnosis in their medical history. The relevant percentiles were calculated for all subscales. In all the subscales the 95th percentiles were equal for males and females except for tinnitus and loss of taste, where the scores for males were higher than for females. Conclusion: Self-reported ear complaints in the general population using the OQUA are overall low. Relatively higher scores were measured in complaints among the younger ages. The OQUA subscale normscore for hearing loss and tinnitus are overall higher than the other complaints and especially higher in the older age. These data are valuable in a shared decision-making consultation, providing better understanding of the patient’s ear complaints as compared to the general population. Together with the ongoing development of the Minimal Important change, the OQUA forms a very powerful tool for Value Based Healthcare.
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