The ear’s frequency selectivity is imperfect and worsens at higher frequencies

Evidence

For frequencies up to about 500 Hz, the size of the critical band is fairly constant, but then it increases with increasing frequency. As a result, frequency selectivity of the ear is not constant and gets worse as frequency is increased, as long as frequency selectivity is characterized in terms of hertz. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 477

Increasing the intensity of the masker led to more masking and produced greater upward spread of masking. The frequency selectivity of the ear was worse at high levels compared with low. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 470

Auditory filters provide a unique opportunity for illustrating the representation of sounds from a perceptual standpoint. In particular, by using the power spectrum model of masking, we can approximate the spectral information as it is represented in the auditory system. Because auditory filters are not perfectly frequency selective (that is, they pass more than one frequency), each spectral component of a stimulus is not represented with perfect fidelity by the ear. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 502

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why is the critical band roughly constant below 500 Hz? Is this tied to basilar membrane mechanics or place coding?
• corroborated: 5 independent passages support this claim — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 477; Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 470; Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 502
• XREF: connects to: Uncertainty principles force mechanical frequency sorting in the ear to be coarse.; Hearing loss impairs frequency selectivity beyond what stimulus level differences explain. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 558; Only harmonics separated by more than the ear’s critical bandwidth are resolved (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Hearing loss impairs frequency selectivity beyond what stimulus level differences explain. #expands (0.85) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 558
• Only harmonics separated by more than the ear’s critical bandwidth are resolved #expands (0.85)
• Binaural modulation frequency selectivity is coarser than the monaural version #qualifies (0.75) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3463