Role of Middle Ear Muscles in Otology

Malfunctioning muscles causing otologic symptoms

We are particularly interested in how the two muscles in the ear, the stapedius and the tensor tympani, may malfunction and cause otologic symptoms. Particularly for the tensor tympani, we have little idea what its physiologic function is.

We have developed cadaveric temporal bone models that simulate contraction of these muscles to look at the effects of sound transmission through the ear. We are also working on developing markers for this.