The smallest muscles in your body are housed in or around your ear and surrounding your hair follicles. Some of these muscles are so tiny that they are the size of a grain of rice, while others are slightly larger -- but not by much. Even the smallest muscles in your body can be broken, and in certain instances surgical correction may be necessary.
Strapedius
The strapedius muscle serves only one purpose: to support the stapes. The stapes is the smallest bone inside your middle ear, and it's also the lightest bone in your entire bone, according to the book "The Smallest Muscle In the Human Body." The stapes is responsible for transmitting sounds into waves that your brain can interpret. Without the strapedius muscle, your stapes would have no support and could collapse due to excess sound vibrations. Since the strapedius muscle holds the stapes in place, it helps filter out, or cut down, loud noises, such as when you talk, to protect your hearing by controlling sound waves.
Tensor Tympani Muscle
The tensor tympani muscle is also located in your middle ear, in close relation to your strapedius muscle. Your tensor tympani muscle also assists in noise reduction, or controlling sound waves, by contracting your tympanic membrane, according to "The Smallest Muscle In the Human Body." When the tympanic membrane contracts, it reduces the amplitude of sounds, such as the sound of chewing.
Helicis Major
The helicis major is the muscle that sits just on the upper front portion of your ear. It's just in front of the area where some females have their cartilage pierced. This muscle is situated on the outer auricle, or pinna, of your ear and helps your ear collect sound waves, according to the book"Anatomy of the Moving Body." It also helps form the shape of your ear, aiding your ear in capturing and filtering sounds.
Posterior Auricular Muscle
The posterior auricular muscle is behind your ear, hidden beneath your hair. This is one of the three muscles used to wiggle your ears. This muscle works together with the anterior auricular muscle to hold your ear in place and give your ear support. The anterior and posterior auricular muscles are very close in size, and both run from your ear and enter the concha, the cavity at the entrance to your ear canal.
References
- "The Smallest Muscle in the Human Body"; Alberto Rios; 2002
- "Anatomy of the Moving Body," 2nd Edition: A Basic Course in Bones, Muscles and Joints"; Theodore Dimon and John Qualter; 2008
