Three Studies in Embodied Regulation

The internet acts as a substrate for the crystallization of previously invisible cultures and practices. This document presents three distinct case studies of embodied sensory regulation, practices that have been defined, refined, and validated within online neurodivergent communities. The topics—voluntary ear-tensing, audio-induced tingling (ASMR), and pup-play vocalizations—are functionally and mechanistically unrelated. They are not a "triad." Their only connection is a shared meta-narrative: each represents a sophisticated, user-driven system for modulating arousal and affective state, moving from the realm of personal quirk to become a piece of functional, community-vetted infrastructure. Each will be examined in turn.

I. A Review of Voluntary Tensor Tympani Control (Auditory Gating)

A small subset of the population possesses the ability to consciously contract the tensor tympani, a muscle within the middle ear. This act, colloquially termed "ear-rumbling," generates a low-frequency sound and, more importantly, functions as a form of auditory gating. The mechanism is purely mechanical: the contraction increases the stiffness of the ossicular chain, physically attenuating the transmission of sound to the inner ear before it is processed as a neural signal. Rigorous laboratory studies have validated this effect, moving it beyond subjective anecdote. Seminal work in 1993 using impedance audiometry quantified the sound reduction at up to 20 decibels for low-frequency sounds, with later psychophysical investigations reporting attenuations exceeding 30 dB under certain conditions^{[1]Burns, E. M., et al. (1993) – Voluntary contraction of middle ear muscles: effects on input impedance, energy reflectance and spontaneous otoacoustic emissions.}. This provides a direct, physiological basis for the "quieting" effect described by practitioners. While formal otolaryngology has largely confined its study to the muscle's involuntary acoustic reflex, online communities have operationalized its voluntary control.

The subreddit r/earrumblersassemble serves as the primary repository for this practical knowledge. It functions as a peer-to-peer instruction manual where a rare, innate trait is honed into a reliable skill. A widely circulated 2017 "Guide" post deconstructs the process, offering concrete techniques such as applying light pressure to the tragus or performing specific jaw movements to help isolate and engage the muscle^{[2]r/earrumblersassemble (2017) – “Guide: How to check if you can voluntarily ear rumble.”}. Through this collective effort, users learn to sustain the contraction and deploy it as a tool for sensory defense in overstimulating environments. The forum also provides a crucial validation function. A 2022 r/askscience thread, in which experts confirmed the phenomenon's physiological basis, served to legitimize the community's entire lexicon and experiential framework. This digital ecosystem has facilitated the practice's diffusion into mainstream awareness, with features on sites like IFLScience and discussions on general-interest forums like r/todayilearned. The practice has even found niche utility beyond sensory regulation; the freediving community, for instance, has explored using tensor tympani control to aid in middle-ear equalization during descents. Voluntary ear-tensing thus exemplifies a process where a physiological anomaly, once a mere curiosity, has been systematically explored and developed through a community-driven, digitally-mediated effort into a functional and transferable skill for managing sensory input.

II. A Review of Audio-Induced Tactile Paresthesia (AITP / ASMR)

The phenomenon popularly known as ASMR is more precisely described in clinical terms as Audio-Induced Tactile Paresthesia (AITP). It is a sensory-perceptual experience characterized by a static-like or tingling sensation on the skin, typically beginning on the scalp and moving down the back of the neck and upper spine. It is not a universal experience, but for those susceptible, it is reliably triggered by specific auditory and visual stimuli, most notably soft, textural sounds like whispering, crinkling, and tapping. The growth of YouTube and other video platforms created a Cambrian explosion of content designed specifically to elicit this response, allowing for massive, informal experimentation that rapidly defined a taxonomy of effective triggers. This public groundswell of interest eventually prompted formal scientific investigation, which has since validated AITP as a legitimate psychophysiological phenomenon with a distinct and paradoxical autonomic signature.

Key laboratory studies have established its measurable effects. A 2018 study by Poerio et al. was among the first to robustly document that, during an AITP episode, individuals experience a significant decrease in heart rate—indicative of relaxation—while simultaneously exhibiting an increase in skin conductance, a marker of arousal^{[3]Poerio, G. L., et al. (2018) – More than a feeling: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology.}. This "calm excitement" provides a physiological basis for its use as both a sleep aid and a tool for focused concentration. Subsequent neuroimaging research has begun to map the neural correlates of the experience. An fMRI investigation by Lochte et al. found that AITP activates brain regions associated with reward and social bonding, such as the nucleus accumbens and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, drawing parallels to the neural pathways involved in frisson (shivers from music)^{[4]Lochte, B. C., et al. (2018) – An fMRI investigation of 'brain tingles' in autonomous sensory meridian response.}. EEG studies have further identified increased alpha-band synchronization in the brain during tingles, a state linked to calm alertness. More recently, computational analysis has begun to deconstruct the triggers themselves. A 2024 study by Terashima et al. demonstrated that tingling responses can be reliably predicted by specific acoustic properties, particularly low-frequency modulations and soft dynamic contrasts, moving the field from anecdotal trigger lists toward a quantitative science of psychoacoustics^{[5]Terashima, H., et al. (2024) – Predicting tingling sensations induced by ASMR videos based on sound texture statistics: a comparison to pleasant feelings.}. The online community remains central to this field, serving not only as a source of phenomenological data but also as an active audience that engages with, interprets, and disseminates scientific findings, creating a powerful feedback loop between researchers and practitioners.

III. A Review of Vocal Self-Stimulation in Pup-Play Subcultures

Vocal self-stimulation ("stimming"), particularly outside the context of formal language, has historically been viewed through a clinical lens of pathology, often seen as a purposeless, stereotyped behavior to be corrected. However, within the LGBTQ+ and kink subculture of pup play, a specific subset of these behaviors—onomatopoeic vocalizations like growls, whines, barks, and "awrawrs"—has been culturally codified into a functional and identity-affirming practice. Pup play involves participants adopting a canine persona, or "headspace," and these vocalizations are a central element of that role-play. Far from being random, they serve as a sophisticated tool for both personal emotional regulation and social communication within the community. The practice's significance is amplified by recent research demonstrating a strong statistical overlap between the pup-play community and neurodivergent populations, particularly those with high autistic-trait scores.

A 2023 survey by Wignall et al. was instrumental in quantifying this link, finding that approximately half of the 413 pup-play participants surveyed scored above the clinical threshold on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient^{[6]Wignall, L., et al. (2023) – Autistic traits of people who engage in pup play.}. This finding strongly suggests that the structured, rule-bound nature of pup play, including its accepted forms of sensory and vocal expression, provides a functional and supportive environment for neurodivergent individuals. Qualitative studies support this interpretation. A 2024 article in the Archives of Sexual Behavior documented pup-play participants explicitly describing their vocalizations as a form of tactical stimming used to manage daily stressors and regulate overwhelming emotions^{[7]Wignall, L., et al. (2024) – “Be Dog Have Fun”: Narratives of Discovery, Meaning, and Coping in Pup Play.}. The physical act of producing these deep, guttural sounds provides proprioceptive feedback and regulates breathing, likely engaging the vagus nerve and down-regulating the body's stress response.

These functions are openly discussed within the community itself. A 2024 article on the kink-positive platform Recon explicitly framed pup-play vocalizations as a form of self-regulatory stimming, distinguishing them from purely performative or sexual aspects of the role-play^{[8]Recon (2024) – Member Article – The Overlap Between Autism & Kink.}. On community forums like r/SFWPupPlay, these vocalizations punctuate social interactions, serving as markers of in-group identity and shared emotional state. A simple "Wruff" can convey greeting, celebration, or comfort, all within the accepted lexicon of the subculture. This communal validation transforms a potentially isolating behavior into a form of connection. The evolution of vocal stimming within pup play is thus a powerful example of community-driven reclamation, where a behavior once pathologized by outsiders is imbued with new meaning and repurposed as a vital piece of personal and social infrastructure.

IV. Discussion: From Quirk to Codified Practice

There is a peculiar moment of self-discovery when you realize a part of your body has a function that isn't in the official user manual. You learn you can flex a muscle inside your own head to make a sound, and for years, you assume everyone can. You notice that certain quiet noises create a pleasant, static-like feeling in your brain, and you think it's just a universal part of hearing. You find that making a specific, non-word sound when you're stressed makes you feel grounded, and it feels as natural as breathing. For a long time, these aren't "techniques" or "modalities"; they are just unnamed, unremarkable parts of your own physical reality. They are normal.

Explaining this normality to someone whose manual is different is a quiet exercise in futility. You try to describe the ear-rumble, and they look at you with a well-meaning blankness. You share an ASMR video that feels like a warm blanket for your brain, and they hear only irritating noise. The first hint of strangeness comes not from within, but from the realization that your "normal" is not universal. You learn to stop talking about it. The experiences become a private, silent shorthand you have with yourself—a set of unlabeled switches on your own control panel that you know how to flip, even if you can't explain why they work.

And then, one day, science arrives. It shows up, late to the party as usual, to solemnly announce that after extensive research, it can confirm the existence of the party. It brings calipers and electrodes to inform you that the muscle you've been flexing your whole life is, in fact, real. It publishes charts demonstrating that the sound you find soothing does, in fact, soothe you. The initial feeling is one of profound validation, quickly followed by the profound absurdity of needing an external, credentialed authority to grant legitimacy to your own nervous system.

The point is not that these practices work; that was never in doubt for those who use them. The point is the strange, dissonant experience of living with a feature that the rest of the world considers a bug, or doesn't see at all. The quiet humor lies in watching the world spend a great deal of time and money to discover something you've always known. The real work is not in developing these techniques, but in navigating a world that demands a peer-reviewed citation for your own reality. In the end, you don't really need the paper. You just keep doing the thing that works. The rumble, the tingle, the growl_—they aren't for them_. They're for you.

Epistemic Note (Empirical Physiology): Foundational paper that provides the initial quantitative evidence for auditory gating. Its function is to establish the mechanical reality of the phenomenon, moving it from subjective anecdote to a measurable physiological event with a quantifiable decibel reduction. It serves as the scientific bedrock for the entire discussion of ear-tensing. Source: ↗ source

Epistemic Note (Community Manual): A primary source illustrating community-driven knowledge codification. Its utility is in demonstrating how a rare physiological trait was transformed into a trainable skill through peer-to-peer instruction, outside of any formal clinical or academic framework. It exemplifies the "digital crucible" concept. Source: ↗ source

Epistemic Note (Psychophysiology): A landmark study that legitimized ASMR as a subject of scientific inquiry. Its primary function is to document the paradoxical autonomic signature (decreased heart rate, increased skin conductance), providing the first robust evidence that the subjective experience has objective, measurable correlates. Source: ↗ source

Epistemic Note (Neuroimaging): This study provides the crucial neural basis for AITP's affective power. By mapping the sensation to brain regions associated with reward and social affiliation (e.g., nucleus accumbens), its function is to explain why the experience is perceived as pleasurable and comforting, linking it to fundamental social-bonding pathways. Source: ↗ source

Epistemic Note (Computational Acoustics): Represents a shift towards a predictive, mechanistic understanding of AITP. Its utility is in demonstrating that the phenomenon is not random, but is tied to specific, quantifiable acoustic properties, thus opening the door for engineered or optimized therapeutic stimuli. Source: ↗ source

Epistemic Note (Qualitative Study): The key source for rich, qualitative data directly from the pup-play community. Its function is to provide the participant narratives that frame vocalizations as intentional coping strategies and tools for emotional regulation, moving the analysis from observation to lived experience. Source: ↗ source

Epistemic Note (Survey Epidemiology): This study provides the critical statistical link between the pup-play subculture and neurodivergence. Its instrumental utility is immense, as it provides the quantitative foundation for interpreting the community's practices (like vocal stimming) as functional adaptations for a neurodivergent population. Source: ↗ source

Epistemic Note (Community Scholarship): An example of a community articulating its own theory of practice. Its function is to show that the interpretation of vocalizations as "stimming" is not an external academic imposition but an organic, self-aware concept developed and discussed within the culture itself. Source: ↗ source