Tympanic membrane (TM) damage caused increased acoustic startle response. A. Rats with TM damage showed higher acoustic startle response at 4 kHz (Two-way ANOVA, p = 0.004, F(1,36)= 9.38, n = 4) compared to the Control Group. B. At 8 kHz, the startle responses of the TM Group were higher at 100 and 110 dB SPL, but slightly lower from 70 to 90 dB SPL compared to the Control Group (Results are presented as mean ± SEM, * P < 0.05).