Middle ear muscle contractions from non-acoustic elicitors

Abstract

High-level sounds can elicit middle ear muscle contractions (MEMC), which are commonly known as acoustic reflexes. Tactile stimulation to the face can also elicit MEMC, and it is plausible that MEMC could co-occur with voluntary eye closure gestures. In this paper, we shall present preliminary MEMC results from human volunteers receiving controlled tactile stimulation (nitrogen gas, 10 kPa, 200 ms duration) to four locations on the face and who close the eye ipsilateral to the MEMC detection probe. The MEMC were detected via changes in total energy reflected in the ear using a filtered (0.2 to 8 kHz) click train. Concomitant muscle activity was measured using electromyography. The morphology and magnitude of the MEMC from these non-acoustic stimuli will be described. If non-acoustic MEMC behaviors do not extinguish and are not highly susceptible to fatigue, they could represent an opportunity to mediate exposure to short-duration noises or help explain between-person differences in noise exposure outcomes.