Research set to be presented in Los Angeles links hearing loss to type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and the growing GLP-1 medication landscape—underscoring hearing health’s expanding role in whole-body care.
More than 5,000 otolaryngologists are expected to convene in Los Angeles Oct. 17-20 for the 2026 Annual Meeting & OTO Expo of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), where hearing health will feature prominently across several research tracks—including emerging work on the connections between hearing loss, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and the rapidly expanding class of GLP-1 and GIP/GLP-1 medications.
The meeting’s media guide identifies “hearing health becomes brain health” as one of six key research frontiers, with studies examining the links between hearing loss, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and healthy aging. The framing reflects a broader shift in how the field positions audiologic care—not as an isolated specialty, but as a critical component of systemic health management.
The WHO’s recent update to its dementia prevention guidelines, which elevated hearing loss and hearing aid use to core public health priorities, has added momentum to this line of inquiry. Meanwhile, The Hearing Review has previously explored how chronic illnesses—including diabetes—affect hearing, balance, and cognition and offered 10 clinical recommendations for hearing care professionals addressing cognition.
GLP-1 Medications Enter the ENT Conversation
As GLP-1 and GIP/GLP-1 medications become more widely prescribed, ENT specialists are examining questions involving thyroid cancer risk, cancer aggressiveness, obesity-related airway disease, surgical outcomes, and patient counseling. For hearing care professionals, the growing prevalence of these medications among patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes—both populations already associated with elevated hearing loss risk—makes this research particularly relevant to clinical practice and patient counseling workflows.
The intersection of metabolic health and audiology is not new territory. Research has long associated type 2 diabetes with increased risk of sensorineural hearing loss, but the emergence of GLP-1 therapies as a mainstream treatment for metabolic conditions raises new questions about downstream effects on auditory health that the field is only beginning to examine.
Hearing Loss, Dementia, and the Case for Earlier Intervention
Studies to be presented at the meeting explore the links between hearing loss, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and healthy aging—a cluster of conditions that hearing care professionals are increasingly called upon to navigate in tandem. Research also examines preventable risks, including how where concertgoers sit at a venue may affect noise exposure and hearing symptoms.
The cognitive-hearing connection has gained significant traction in recent years. A study published earlier this year found hearing aids linked to a 23% lower dementia risk in adults with epilepsy and hearing loss, while a separate survey identified hearing health as a longevity blind spot among consumers and clinicians alike.
Gene Therapy Research Advances
Also on the agenda are early results from gene therapy trials for genetic hearing loss. Studies of two therapies—AK-OTOF and DB-OTO—suggest that children with profound genetic hearing loss may gain access to sound and new opportunities for speech and language development. The Hearing Review has tracked both programs closely, including new DB-OTO results showing sustained improvements for children with profound genetic hearing loss, the FDA’s accelerated approval of Otarmeni gene therapy for OTOF-related hearing loss, and the EMA’s acceptance of Otarmeni for review.
Policy Pressures Loom Over Innovation
The science on display in Los Angeles arrives amid significant policy uncertainty. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed 50% Medicare payment cuts for certain same-day services beginning in 2027, a prospect that has drawn sharp concern from the specialty. As The Hearing Review recently reported, a survey found that 8 in 10 ENTs say the proposed Medicare cut could limit seniors’ access to specialty care.
“Otolaryngology is at the center of some of today’s most important health and policy conversations,” says Rahul K. Shah, MD, MBA, Academy CEO and executive vice president, in a release. “From gene therapy and GLP-1 medications to dementia prevention, sleep apnea, cancer, and hearing restoration, this research shows how far ENT care reaches. Our physicians need the freedom to keep innovating—and sound policies that help turn that innovation into better patient care.”
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