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The tympanic reflex helps prevent damage to the inner ear by muffling the transmission of low frequency vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the oval window. The reflex has a response time of 40 milliseconds, not fast enough to protect the ear from sudden loud noises such as an explosion or gunshot.
The acoustic reflex (also known as the stapedius reflex, [1] stapedial reflex, [2] auditory reflex, [3] middle-ear-muscle reflex (MEM reflex, MEMR), [4] attenuation reflex, [5] cochleostapedial reflex [6] or intra-aural reflex [6]) is an involuntary muscle contraction that occurs in the middle ear in response to loud sound stimuli or when the person starts to vocalize.
Although the ear is the primary organ for sensing low sound, at higher intensities it is possible to feel infrasound vibrations in various parts of the body. The study of such sound waves is sometimes referred to as infrasonics , covering sounds beneath 20 Hz down to 0.1 Hz (and rarely to 0.001 Hz).
Hyperacusis is an increased sensitivity to sound and a low tolerance for environmental noise. Definitions of hyperacusis can vary significantly; it often revolves around damage to or dysfunction of the stapes bone , stapedius muscle or tensor tympani ( eardrum ).
Quieter sounds that are concentrated in a narrow frequency may also cause damage to specific frequency receptors. [1] The range of severity can vary from pain to hearing loss. [2] Acute acoustic trauma can be treated by combining hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) with corticosteroids. Acute noise exposure causes inflammation and lower oxygen ...
The traveling wave along the basilar membrane peaks at different places along it, depending on whether the sound is low or high frequency. Due to the mass and stiffness of the basilar membrane, low frequency waves peak in the apex, while high frequency sounds peak in the basal end of the cochlea. [13]
HRTF filtering effect. A head-related transfer function (HRTF) is a response that characterizes how an ear receives a sound from a point in space. As sound strikes the listener, the size and shape of the head, ears, ear canal, density of the head, size and shape of nasal and oral cavities, all transform the sound and affect how it is perceived, boosting some frequencies and attenuating others.
Low-frequency conductive hearing loss is present in many patients with SCDS and is explained by the dehiscence acting as a "third window." Vibrations entering the ear canal and middle ear are then abnormally diverted through the superior semicircular canal and up into the intracranial space where they become absorbed instead of being registered ...