Phantom tone perception varies widely between individual listeners

Evidence

Some people seem to have difficulty recognizing phantom tones, possibly because they have more accurate hearing or are less capable of analytic listening— it is difficult to tell which. There is growing evidence for a considerable variability in sound processing in the brain from person to person. A dramatic example of this is Deutsch’s audio illusion, discussed in section 25.21, which different people hear radically differently. For this reason, there may be no fixed set of answers to the question of what phantom tones are heard under a given set of circumstances. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2280

Categorization

• QUESTION: The puzzle of whether resistance to phantom tones reflects better hearing or weaker analytic listening is worth chasing.