Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The tensor tympani is a muscle within the middle ear, located in the bony canal above the bony part of the auditory tube, and connects to the malleus bone. Its role is to dampen loud sounds, such as those produced from chewing, shouting, or thunder.
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.
The movement of the ossicles may be stiffened by two muscles. The stapedius muscle, the smallest skeletal muscle in the body, connects to the stapes and is controlled by the facial nerve; the tensor tympani muscle is attached to the upper end of the medial surface of the handle of malleus [2] and is under the control of the medial pterygoid ...
Acoustic reflex or attenuation reflex — contraction of the stapedius and tensor tympani muscles in the middle ear in response to high sound intensities. Anal wink - contraction of the external anal sphincter upon stroking of the skin around the anus.
Bell's palsy can trigger hyperacusis if the associated flaccid paralysis affects the tensor tympani, and stapedius, two small muscles of the middle ear. [33] Paralysis of the stapedius muscle prevents its function in dampening the oscillations of the ossicles, causing sound to be abnormally loud on the affected side. [34]
Paralysis of the stapedius muscle may result when the nerve to the stapedius, a branch of the facial nerve, is damaged, or when the facial nerve itself is damaged before the nerve to stapedius branches. In cases of Bell's palsy, a unilateral paralysis of the facial nerve, the stapedius is paralyzed and hyperacusis may result. [3]
The malleus rests on the membrane, and receives the vibration. This vibration is transmitted along the incus and stapes to the oval window. Two small muscles, the tensor tympani and stapedius, also help modulate noise. The two muscles reflexively contract to dampen excessive vibrations.
Middle ear myoclonus occurs in the muscles of the middle ear. These muscles may include the tensor tympani and stapedius muscles. It can involve the muscles surrounding the Eustachian tube, which include the tensor veli palatini, levator veli palatini, and salpingopharyngeus. Those affected describe it as a thumping sound or sensation in the ear.