Anatom3DTensor tympani
Musculus tensor tympani · Napínač bubínku
Muscles
Looks like
A small muscle in a bony canal above the Eustachian tube, whose tendon hooks round a bony pulley to the handle of the malleus; supplied by the trigeminal nerve.
What it does
Pulls the eardrum inwards and tightens it, damping chewing noise and one's own voice, and startles to sudden sound.
Keeping it well
Spasm of it is blamed for a fluttering or thumping in the ear and for the pain and fullness some people feel with ordinary noise (tonic tensor tympani syndrome); evidence is limited.