The cochlea cannot track dynamic intensity changes above roughly 1 kHz

Evidence

Due to the saturation and limited dynamic ranges of individual fibers, an individual neuron cannot code the entire range of sound levels that are perceived by the human ear. The dynamic range (the range of levels between threshold and saturation) of an individual neuron is on the order of 20 to 40 dB and rarely exceeds 60 dB. Note that the dynamic range of human hearing is considered to be approximately 100 to 120 dB, suggesting that all three fiber types must be used to represent the entire dynamic range of hearing. Consider then that the high SR/low threshold fibers would be most involved in representing lowlevel stimuli, such as when auditory threshold is measured. On the other hand, high threshold/low SR fibers are most involved in auditory detection when a background noise is present. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 240 (#expands, via linked claim)

The observed decreases in envelope gain and in gain peakedness with increasing beat rate act synergistically to reduce the amount of compression exhibited in the BM response envelopes at high beat rates. This “linearization” is illustrated directly in Fig. 3 by plotting the response envelopes as a function of the instantaneous intensity of the beating stimulus. … One consequence of this linearization is that BM’s response dynamics can actually enhance the encoding of dynamic stimuli, within certain limits. However, this “enhancement” comes at the price of reduced overall sensitivity. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3637 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Cochlear gain control tracks intensity changes only up to about 1 kHz — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3657; Individual auditory nerve fibers cannot code the full hearing dynamic range — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 240; Nonlinear cochlear mechanics make listeners perceive nonexistent difference tones (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Individual auditory nerve fibers cannot code the full hearing dynamic range #expands (0.80) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 240
• Faster-fluctuating sounds trigger less cochlear compression, trading sensitivity for better dynamic encoding #expands (0.78) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3637
• Nonlinear cochlear mechanics make listeners perceive nonexistent difference tones #complicates (0.72)
• The cochlea may regulate gain slowly rather than compress sound instantly #complicates (0.72) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3628
• The ear’s time-frequency resolution cannot be modeled by fixed-length frames #expands (0.72)