Measuring the Acoustic Reflex through the Tympanic Membrane.

Introduction: The acoustic reflex is the active response of the middle ear to loud sounds, altering the mechanical transfer function of the acoustic energy into the inner ear. Our goal was to observe the effect of the acoustic reflex on the tympanic membrane by identifying a significant nonlinear increase in membrane oscillations.

Methods: By using interferometric spectrally encoded endoscopy, we record the membrane oscillations over time in response to a loud, 200-ms-long acoustic stimulus.

Results: A gradual reflex activation is measured between approximately 40 and 100 ms, manifested as a linear 42% increase in the umbo oscillation amplitude.

Conclusion: The measured oscillations correlate well with those expected from a mechanical model of a damped harmonic oscillator, and the results of this work demonstrate the potential of interferometric spectrally encoded endoscopy to observe unique dynamical processes in the tympanic membrane and in the middle ear.