Stapedius reflex quantification in acoustic tumor patients

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Abstract
This investigation is a human application of previously reported work from our laboratories on experimental acoustic tumor effects on the stapedius reflex in monkeys. In this study, the contralateral stapedius reflex was elicited in human controls and in subjects with an acoustic tumor. Acoustic impedance was recorded on magnetic tape for offline analysis of reflex threshold, latency, rise, amplitude, decay, and relaxation. Typical tumor effects on threshold and decay were observed. Most important was the demonstration that decay measured at 20 db SL was more sensitive and more specific for tumor than decay measured at the conventional 10 db SL. Stapedius reflex latency, rise, and amplitude were more sensitive to the presence of a tumor than were measures of threshold and decay. These data indicate that qualification of the reflex will increase the utility of the test.

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