Action of the Middle Ear Muscles in Normal Cats

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Abstract
Wires have been permanently implanted on the round window of the cochlea in cats. The voltage output of ears responding to sound stimulation has thus been made continuously available in unanesthetized animals for periods up to 4 months. By cutting the middle ear muscles of one ear and comparing its responses with those derived from the normal ear on the opposite side, it has been shown that the muscles: (1) do not appreciably influence absolute sensitivity, (2) contract to intense stimuli within 15 msec of their delivery to either ear, (3) attenuate transmission of tones between at least 500 and 3000 cps, and (4) significantly protect the ear against damage from intense sounds. Spontaneous contractions sporadically and intermittently introduce a transmission attenuation of several decibels in the resting normal cat. The stapedius muscle is much more important than the tensor tympani in producing these effects.

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