Acoustic reflexes is a type of hearing test that is helpful in checking particular types of hearing loss.
Acoustic reflexes measure the response of the middle ear muscles to loud sounds. When there is a loud sound, normal functioning middle ear muscles will contract to protect the ear from the loud sounds. For this test, the patient does not need to respond to the sound, the measures are done automatically without the patient’s input. Some of the sounds can be quite loud and for people with normal hearing or some pathologies, it can be somewhat uncomfortable, even though it’s not harmful. In patients with a hearing loss, some of these reflexes may be abnormal or even absent.