Auditory reflex

Auditory Reflex

The auditory reflex, also known as the acoustic reflex, is an involuntary muscle contraction that occurs in the middle ear in response to high-intensity sound stimuli or when the person starts to vocalize.

Mechanism

When an intense sound is perceived, the auditory system sends a signal to the brain which then sends a message to the stapedius and tensor tympani muscles of the middle ear. This causes these muscles to contract and stiffen the ossicles, or bones of the middle ear, thereby reducing the amount of sound that is transmitted to the cochlea. This reflex helps to protect the inner ear from damage by loud noises.

Function

The primary function of the auditory reflex is to protect the inner ear from potentially damaging noise levels. It also plays a role in modulating the perception of our own voice, and aids in understanding speech in noisy environments.

Clinical significance

The auditory reflex can be used in clinical settings to assess the integrity of the auditory pathway and to help diagnose certain hearing disorders. For example, an absent or abnormal auditory reflex may indicate a problem with the auditory nerve or the neural pathways leading to the muscles of the middle ear.

See also

• Hearing
• Hearing loss
• Audiometry
• Tympanometry