Psychotherapy: A Way Forward to Improve the Quality of Life in Otalgia Patients

Introduction: Otalgia is not only an indicator of impact of disease but also impairs the daily activities and personal behaviors as is unpleasant and disturbing for the patient. It leads to decrease in functional status up to the complete disability. Nowadays the main focus of physician is to eradicate the disease or the symptoms, leaving behind the humanistic element. In diseased state, the most important point is to assess and improve the quality of life by using multidisciplinary approach. Objective: The objective is to assess the quality of life in patients having otalgia, due to any cause. Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted by using modified form of WHOQOL-100 and COQOL. Data was accepted, if CFI was greater than 0.9. Qualitative data were presented as frequency and percentages and quantitative data as mean with standard deviation. ANOVA was used to assess the variations among groups. Change in behavior was assessed by using the Likert scale for each domain of WHOQOL and COQOL by a ten-point scale. Results: Majority of participants about 60.2% were male and were from the age group of 16 - 30 years. Most of the sample population were from lower socioeconomic class. Looking over the WHOQOL-100, higher score represented the higher quality of life. Variation among different socioeconomic status was non-significant for positive attitudes but was highly significant (p = 0.0020) for negative attitudes. Analyzing the COQOL scoring system, higher score reported the worse symptoms. The patient with high COQOL showed strong correlation with poor WHOQOL-100 score that was p value < 0.001. Conclusion: The current study highlights the need of multidisciplinary approach for the better management and improving the quality of life in patients with otalgia.