Muscles
The movement of the ossicles may be stiffened by two muscles. The stapedius muscle, the smallest skeletal muscle in the body, connects to the stapes and is controlled by the facial nerve; the tensor tympani muscle connects to the base of the malleus and is under the control of the trigeminal nerve. These muscles contract in response to loud sounds, thereby reducing the transmission of sound to the inner ear. This is called the acoustic reflex or Tympanic reflex.
Read more about this topic: Middle Ear
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—Robert Lowell (1917–1977)