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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 stapedius dampens the vibrations of the stapes by pulling on the neck of that bone. [2]: 863 As one of the muscles involved in the acoustic reflex it prevents excess movement of the stapes, helping to control the amplitude of sound waves from the general external environment to the inner ear.
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 nerve which is a branch of the mandibular nerve of the trigeminal ...
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]
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The stapedius reflex of the middle ear muscles helps protect the inner ear from damage by reducing the transmission of sound energy when the stapedius muscle is activated in response to sound. The middle ear still contains the sound information in wave form; it is converted to nerve impulses in the cochlea .