Maria Isabella Katerina Lacson

CAUD201
28 August 2018

Do humans have a built-in defense mechanism to conserve hearing?

Our ears have an involuntary reflex, known as the Acoustic (or Stapedius) Reflex, that
responds bilaterally when a high-intensity level sound stimulus is presented. Whenever a loud
sound occurs, usually with an SPL value greater than 85 dB, the Stapedius muscle and the
Tensor Tympani muscle within the middle ear contract to help conserve hearing.
The Stapedius Muscle and the Tensor Tympani Muscle are the smallest muscles in the
body, whose tendons are attached to two of the three ossicles. The former muscle is attached to
neck of the Stapes bone while the latter is attached to the Malleus bone, by its neck and right on
top of its manubrium.
The Stapedius Muscle plays the primary role in the Acoustic Reflex as this contracts and
rotates the Stapes in a posterior direction, thereby reducing the vibrations in the oval window as
well as the ossicular chain’s range of motion. The Tensor Tympani muscle, on the other hand,
pulls the Malleus anteromedially to also stiffen the ossicular chain while reducing movement of
the tympanic membrane. Additionally, the latter muscle contracts when intense sounds are
introduced, which causes a form of startle reaction.
The muscles respond bilaterally when the stimulus is heard, although the sound’s
attenuation is stronger on the side that heard it more (ipsilateral) compared to the attenuation in
the other ear (contralateral). The reflex is also activated with internal sounds from the body such
as vocalizing or chewing.
Although the protection is limited against sudden loud sounds such as explosions, the
Acoustic Reflex aids in lessening auditory fatigue, especially from prolonged sound exposure of
low frequencies.

References:

Seikel, J. A., King, D. W., & Drumright, D. G. (2010). Anatomy and physiology for speech,
language, and hearing (4th ed.). New York: Delmar Cengage Learning.
Gelfand, S.A. (2016). Essentials of Audiology (4th ed.). New York: Thieme Medical Publishers,
Inc.
Katz, J., Chasin, M., English, K., Hood, L. J., & Tillery, K. L. (2015) Handbook of clinical
audiology (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health.