> For example, I recall awaking one morning being unable to hear because those muscles were isometrically flexing to a degree that prevented the eardrum from mo

> For example, I recall awaking one morning being unable to hear because those muscles were isometrically flexing to a degree that prevented the eardrum from move normally. I thought I lost my hearing but then they started to relax over a few minutes. I remember listening to a podcast where one of the guests experienced a highly stressful event. They mentioned that they felt like they couldn't hear anything for a few weeks but the problem eventually went away. When I heard this, I assumed it was some kind of psychosomatic effect but reading this made me realize that it could also be related to actual physiological responses to stress. (You could argue that psychosomatic responses are also physiological so I'm drawing a distinction between "your brain stopped you from hearing" vs "your body was so stressed out, your ears stopped you from hearing".) The human body is amazing.