Twenty-four male subjects were trained in the use of the Békésy audiometer. Then they were exposed to 100 rounds of machine-gun fire, both with and without a pre-exposure to a 1000-cps tone for activating the acoustic reflex. Pre- and post-firing audiograms, taken under both conditions, were compared to determine temporary threshold shifts. Shifts obtained with the reflex-activating tone were found to be significantly smaller than those obtained in its absence.
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Fletcher et al. (1960) studied this question.