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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 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.
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]
Symptoms may include a sense of fullness in the ear, tinnitus, and dizziness. [7] [8] The model details how symptoms may be initiated by tensor tympani muscle damage or overload due to acoustic shock or trauma. Hypercontraction or hyperactivity of the muscle may cause an "ATP energy crisis." The muscle is then forced to create energy without ...
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 ...
Tonic tensor tympani syndrome is a disease of the tensor tympani muscle, described by Klochoff et al. in 1971. [1] [2] The tensor tympani muscle is one of the two middle ear muscles that support the three middle ear bones, called the ossicles. TTTS involves tensor tympani muscle activity being reduced, leading to a decrease in the contraction ...
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.
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. Vibration of the oval window causes vibration of the endolymph within the vestibule and the cochlea. [13]