I can do this too. The article mentions it being “rare”, but it sounds like it hasn’t really been studied so might actually be common. From casual discussion with friends in the past I suspect it’s more like 30-50% of people.
As the article mentions, the tensor tympani muscles are also involved in hyperacusis, which is an inability to tolerate sound at volumes most people have no issue with.
One of my kids has this. The best analogy I've found is it is like standing out in the sun when you already have sunburn.
Oh, so that's what that is? Crazy. Subjectively (besides the sound) it just felt like a vague pressure in my head, near the neck, so I never could figure out what the hell it was I was doing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor_tympani_muscle
I can do this too. The article mentions it being “rare”, but it sounds like it hasn’t really been studied so might actually be common. From casual discussion with friends in the past I suspect it’s more like 30-50% of people.