Which of the following contract together with stapes to stiffen the ossicular chain and protect the inner ear from noise damage?

Stapedius and tensor tympani muscles contract through a neural reflex arc mediated by loud sounds (>80 dB). They act to stiffen the ossicular chain and protect the inner ear from noise damage, paicularly at low frequencies. In contrast, cholesteatoma formation in the middle ear can contact the ossicular chain, increasing the total mass, causing a predominantly high-frequency conductive hearing loss.