Masking noise prevents listeners from using unintended spectral cues

Evidence

Unlike physiological experiments, where we can measure the response elicited by a single stimulus, a masking study always involves at least two sounds: a signal and a masker. The signal is the sound being detected, whereas the masker is the interfering sound. Often the signal is a pure tone, but in principle, it can be any type of sound, such as speech and complex sounds. The same is true for the masker; it can be any type of sound such as noise, speech, or tones. In these studies, by measuring the influence of a masker on a signal, we can make inferences about how the signal or the masker is represented by the auditory system. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 441 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Spectral broadening can mask source identity while preserving loudness-time function — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1847; Complex listening relies on higher-level signal segregation beyond energetic masking; Off-frequency listening can distort auditory filter measurement unless masked (+14 more)

Related

• Masking experiments infer auditory representation from masker effects on signals. (similarity 0.91)
• Masking acts within critical bandwidths, leaving distant-frequency sounds unaffected (similarity 0.89)
• Masking operates on a continuous scale between audible and fully masked. (similarity 0.88)
• Masked sound components are perceptually ignored within complex sounds (similarity 0.88)
• A masker raises the audibility threshold of a test sound. (similarity 0.88)
• Masker effectiveness is determined solely by power falling within one auditory filter. (similarity 0.88)
• Masking patterns reveal the ear’s internal psychological representation of a sound. (similarity 0.87)
• Off-frequency listening can distort auditory filter measurement unless masked (similarity 0.87)
• Masking is quantified by the shift in a listener’s hearing-threshold curve (similarity 0.87)
• Auditory filters are analyzed one component at a time to build up complex effects (similarity 0.87)
• A narrow noise band can mask signals multiple octaves away at high stimulus levels. (similarity 0.87)
• Masking spreads from a noise band to tones further away as masker level rises (similarity 0.87)
• Increasing stimulus level broadens auditory filters and causes upward spread of masking (similarity 0.87)
• Added masking noise prevents off-frequency cues in hearing experiments (similarity 0.86)
• Auditory masking depends only on energy within a band surrounding the signal. (similarity 0.86)

Broader Connections

• Sound masking extends in time before and after the masker #expands (0.90)
• Masking experiments infer auditory representation from masker effects on signals. #expands (0.85) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 441
• Fully masked spectral components contribute nothing to perceived sound #expands (0.80)
• Simultaneous tones become harder to perceive due to masking effects #exemplifies (0.75) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1628