Hearing segregates sounds by frequency unless they fall within a critical band

Evidence

The frequency masking patterns shown in Figure 9.5 imply that a narrowband sound presented to the listener affects the perception of other sounds in nearby frequencies. If two narrowband sounds at similar levels have different enough frequencies, our hearing resolves them into two separate auditory events. If they are located sufficiently close to each other in frequency, they are perceived as a single auditory event. The ability of our hearing to segregate sounds separated in frequency is called frequency resolution. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1029

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines frequency resolution — the ability of hearing to segregate sounds separated in frequency.