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Related Concept Videos

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2026

Electrically Evoked Stapedius Reflex Measurements in Cochlear Implantation and Its Application in the Postoperative Fitting Process
07:00

Electrically Evoked Stapedius Reflex Measurements in Cochlear Implantation and Its Application in the Postoperative Fitting Process

Published on: June 21, 2024

Acoustic stapedius reflex function in man revisited.

Steven J Aiken1, Jessica N Andrus, Manohar Bance

  • 1School of Human Communication Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. steve.aiken@dal.ca

Ear and Hearing
|February 14, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The stapedius reflex helps protect speech understanding from low-frequency noise masking, particularly at moderate sound levels. However, this protective effect diminishes significantly at higher noise intensities.

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Last Updated: May 14, 2026

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Area of Science:

  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Speech Perception
  • Acoustic Reflexes

Background:

  • Low-frequency background noise can interfere with speech recognition through upward spread of masking.
  • The acoustic stapedius reflex is a middle ear muscle response that may mitigate this interference.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the protective role of the acoustic stapedius reflex against upward spread of masking.
  • To assess how the reflex influences speech recognition in the presence of low-frequency noise.

Main Methods:

  • Speech recognition scores were measured in control participants and patients with transected stapedius tendons.
  • Participants listened to soft and loud nonsense syllables with varying low-frequency masker levels and signal-to-noise ratios.
  • The Speech-Intelligibility Index (SII) quantified speech information available.

Main Results:

  • Patients with impaired stapedius reflex function showed poorer speech recognition across all conditions.
  • Control participants demonstrated a plateau in performance degradation with increasing masker levels for loud speech, unlike patients.
  • Continuous low-frequency masker use did not appear to cause significant reflex adaptation.

Conclusions:

  • The stapedius reflex provides a degree of protection against upward spread of masking for speech at moderate noise levels.
  • This protective benefit is not observed at high noise levels, indicating limitations of the reflex.
  • Findings suggest the reflex plays a role in speech intelligibility in noisy environments.