For the middle ear to maintain its most important function, sound con duction, its pressure always needs to be kept around atmospheric level. The eustachian tube has long been believed to be the only organ playing the important role of pressure regulation of the middle ear. However, several phenomena that cannot be explained solely by reference to eustachian tube function have gradually emerged. For instance, otitis media with effusion cannot always be produced experimentally by selectively eliminating the ventilatory function of the eustachian tube by excising the tensor veli pala tini...
For the middle ear to maintain its most important function, sound con duction, its pressure always needs to be kept around atmospheric level. The eust...