A sensitive air pressure-measuring transducer for indirect middle ear muscle recording in humans.

In the past, the recording of middle ear muscle activity (MEMA) during sleep was accomplished with the use of the acoustic impedance bridge (AIB). However, two major concerns with this technique are: 1. augmentation of MEMA (and possible impairment of the auditory apparatus), as a consequence of the 85-95 dB probe tone, which is necessary for acoustic tympanometry; 2. the AIB recording method is susceptible to snoring artifact so that determination of true MEMA events is difficult. By utilizing a highly sensitive air-pressure measuring transducer (AMPT), we were able to record MEMA accurately without artifactual stimulation of this endogenously occurring REM sleep phasic activity. Possible damage to inner ear structures is precluded because no sound input is required with the AMPT.