Different noise types mask different specific speech sounds by matching their spectra

Evidence

More subtly, it is possible for speech that is produced at high levels to mask itself. That is, if the speech is too loud, then, notwithstanding the improvement in signal-to-noise ratio, the intelligibility is reduced, because the low-frequency components of the speech mask the high-frequency components due to the upward spread of masking. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2480 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Internal noise, not feature extraction, explains individual variation in model vowel identification; Classical spectral-peak vowel coding is especially vulnerable to noise and level changes; Consonant confusions shift with noise type, filtering, and vowel context. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5577 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Loud speech can mask its own high-frequency components via upward spread of masking #complicates (0.85) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2480
• Masked threshold of a tone by white noise is computable from critical-band level #qualifies (0.72)