26 Chapter 2 We believe the questionnaire is a vital tool for the assessment of complaints in ENT patients. However, questionnaire selection is often guided by prior experiences or by copying from the work of peers. The most suitable questionnaire is not always selected.7 A comprehensive overview of all published otology questionnaires demonstrating basic questionnaire and study characteristics will be a valuable addition to the current literature. It will facilitate the selection of questionnaires by caregivers. In the presented article, we will describe the systematic search of all closed-ended questionnaires, validated in adults, regarding at least one of the eight most prominent ear complaints like tinnitus, hearing loss, earache, otorrhoea, and ear-related vertigo, pressure sensation, prurigo, or dysgeusia.8 A distinct overview of questionnaires will be presented with their general characteristics, divided into several subgroups. More in depth assessment of the reliability/validity of every questionnaire in each group will follow in future studies. Objectives 1. To identify all validated closed-ended questionnaires covering one or multiple ear complaints (i.e., tinnitus, hearing loss, otalgia, otorrhoea, and ear related pressure sensation, vertigo, prurigo, or dysgeusia) for adults, in the literature published in the English language. 2. Create a comprehensive overview of identified questionnaires and their basic characteristics. Material and Methods Protocol and registration The methods for this systematic mapping review have been developed according to the recommendations from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.9 A 27-item PRISMA checklist is available as an additional file to this protocol (Appendix 2.1 p.32-34). Our protocol has been registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42017058155. Search strategy The search strategy is illustrated using a flow diagram (Figure 1). Our search goal was to identify all otology questionnaires and subsequently to identify any original article concerning the development (“development paper”) and/or an article describing the evaluation of the measurement properties (“validation paper”) for every unique questionnaire. Therefore, the search consisted of two separate searches. The goal of
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