Learning Objectives: Learn about the latest ideas on how the biomechanics of the middle ear affect our understanding of ear disease and its treatment.

Presentations and discussions on middle-ear biomechanics with some of the leading surgeon scientists familiar with the topics: Manohar Bance of Dalhousie University of Halifax Canada, Thomas Zahnert of the University of Dresden Germany and Karl-Bernd Hüttenbrink of the University of Köln Germany. Topics to be discussed include: The normal and reconstructed tympanic membrane (MB), the influence of tension and position on the function of ossicular replacement prostheses (TZ), the significance of a solid contact in ossicular reconstruction in acoustic and non-acoustic pressure environments (K-BH), and the coupling of sound to the ossicular chain by the normal tympanic membrane (JJR).