The ear, functioning as a recipient of pressure, does not only respond to acoustic pressure but also to changes in the static (atmospheric) ambient air pressure. The movements of the tympanic membrane thus caused are several million times greater than during the hearing process. With a view to protecting the sensitive inner ear, the chain of auditory ossicles relies on a complex mechanism in reaction to oscillations of such intensity. Hammer and anvil are diverted. It was with high-grade X-ray enlargements of inner ear preparations that it has been possible for the first time to show the movements which uncouple the inner ear from excessive eardrum shifts. Explanation of X-ray sequences by models and animation.