Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea
Published on: May 10, 2019
Weak Middle-Ear-Muscle Reflex in Humans with Noise-Induced Tinnitus and Normal Hearing May Reflect Cochlear
Magdalena Wojtczak1, Jordan A Beim1, Andrew J Oxenham1
1Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
Abstract:
Chronic tinnitus is a prevalent hearing disorder, and yet no successful treatments or objective diagnostic tests are currently available. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the presence of tinnitus and the strength of the middle-ear-muscle reflex (MEMR) in humans with normal and near-normal hearing. Clicks were used as test stimuli to obtain a wideband measure of the effect of reflex activation on ear-canal sound pressure. The reflex was elicited using a contralateral broadband noise. The results show that the reflex strength is significantly reduced in individuals with noise-induced continuous tinnitus and normal or near-normal audiometric thresholds compared with no-tinnitus controls. Due to a shallower growth of the reflex strength in the tinnitus group, the difference between the two groups increased with increasing elicitor level. No significant difference in the effect of tinnitus on the strength of the middle-ear muscle reflex was found between males and females. The weaker reflex could not be accounted for by differences in audiometric hearing thresholds between the tinnitus and control groups. Similarity between our findings in humans and the findings of a reduced middle-ear muscle reflex in noise-exposed animals suggests that noise-induced tinnitus in individuals with clinically normal hearing may be a consequence of cochlear synaptopathy, a loss of synaptic connections between inner hair cells (IHCs) in the cochlea and auditory-nerve (AN) fibers that has been termed hidden hearing loss.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
The Cochlea
Anatomy of the Ear
The Auditory Ossicles
The aptly named stapes look very much like a stirrup. The three ossicles are unique to mammals, and each plays a role in...
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking...
Hearing
Hair Cells

