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Scientific Oral Presentation

Otology/Neurotology

Risk of Developing Patulous Eustachian Tube Dysfunction in Patients Using GLP-1 Analoguess

Monday, October 19, 2026

8:18 AM - 8:24 AM PT

Location: 501 A-C

Co-Author(s)

VK

Veenadhari Kollipara, n/a

Medical Student
Penn State College of Medicine
Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
FL

F. Jeffrey F. Lorenz, MD

Resident Physician, Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
Penn State University
Hershey, PA, United States
MP

Marc D. Polanik, MD

Attending Physician, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Penn State Health
Hummelstown, PA, United States

Senior Author(s)

MW

Mark E. Whitaker, MD FACS

Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center / Penn State College of Medicine
Hershey, PA, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Kunal A. Koka, BS

Medical Student
Penn State College of Medicine
Hershey, PA, United States

Disclosure(s):

Marc D. Polanik, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Mark E. Whitaker, MD FACS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Kunal A. Koka, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Previous studies have established a correlation between rapid weight loss and the development of patulous eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), potentially due to reduction in peritubal adipose tissue and altered eustachian tube patency. As glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues are increasingly used to induce substantial weight loss, the potential otologic complications associated with this rapid therapeutic weight reduction warrant further investigation. The aim of this study is to determine the risk of developing patulous ETD in patients using GLP-1 analogues.

Methods: TriNetX, a federated de-identified database, was retrospectively queried to identify adults (>18 years of age) using GLP-1 analogues between 2009-2023 with at least 1 year of follow-up; along with an age and overweight/obesity–propensity score–matched control cohort for comparison. Patients with potential confounders, including gastroesophageal reflux disease, rhinitis, or upper respiratory infections within one year prior to GLP-1 initiation or at any time thereafter, were excluded. Patients explicitly diagnosed with obstructive ETD were excluded to filter for patulous ETD. Diagnosis rates of patulous ETD within 1 month to 1 year following GLP-1 analogue initiation were measured.

Results: After propensity score matching, we identified 378,055 patients in each cohort with an average age of 54.6-years-old. Females made up 60% of the GLP-1 cohort and 55% of the control cohort. After propensity score matching, the GLP-1 analogue cohort had a 0.146% risk of developing patulous ETD compared to a 0.062% risk amongst patients without GLP-1 analogue use (risk ratio: 2.34, 95% confidence interval: 2.01-2.72, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: Our study demonstrated an increased relative risk of patulous ETD among patients using GLP-1 analogues compared to the general population, suggesting that rapid weight loss associated with these agents may contribute to the development of ETD.