The Valve and “Locking” Mechanisms of the Eustachian Tube

Abstract
In controlled “ear aspiration” experiments on normals it is shown that the air volumes passing through the tube during deglutition gradually decrease with lowering of the negative middle ear pressure. If tympanic inflations are performed simultaneously i.e. “aspiration” + inflation with a very slight overpressure, the air volumes passing the tube at identical middle ear pressures are far greater as compared with “aspiration” only. At “common cold” the tube can be “locked” by very small negative middle ear pressure. Now, if during the “locking” period attempts are made to open the tube by swallowing, further negative pressure spikes are simultaneously produced in the closed ear space thanks to the action of the muscular opening forces on the tube. In this way these forces oppose themselves. These phenomena are further illustrated by an ear-Eustachian tube model.