CEDRA: A Tool to Help Consumers Assess Risk for Ear Disease

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Otolaryngology
• Public Health

Background:

• The evolving hearing healthcare landscape necessitates accessible tools for preliminary ear disease screening.
• Consumers and clinicians require efficient methods to assess ear health before hearing device fitting.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce and describe the development and validation of the Consumer Ear Disease Risk Assessment (CEDRA) tool.
• Highlight CEDRA's utility as a self-screening questionnaire for consumers and a clinical aid for hearing healthcare professionals.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Consumer Ear Disease Risk Assessment (CEDRA) tool, a brief questionnaire for targeted ear disease screening.
• Validation of CEDRA using neurotologist diagnoses on an initial training sample (n=246) and an independent test sample (n=61).

Main Results:

• CEDRA demonstrated high sensitivity (90%) and specificity (72%) in the training sample, and (76% and 80% respectively) in the test sample.
• The questionnaire is designed for patient-oriented readability, with completion times under 10 minutes.
• CEDRA provides a safety measure without hindering access to hearing healthcare.

Conclusions:

• The Consumer Ear Disease Risk Assessment (CEDRA) tool is a validated, brief questionnaire for preliminary ear disease screening.
• CEDRA supports informed decision-making for consumers and clinicians in hearing healthcare.
• The tool enhances safety and accessibility in the changing hearing healthcare environment.