Time-shifting an identical noise masker changes consonant perception measurably.

Evidence

Consonant-vowel combinations (CVs) were presented to normal-hearing listeners in white noise at six different signal-to-noise ratios. The obtained responses were analyzed with respect to the considered sources of variability using a measure of the perceptual distance between responses. The largest effect was found across different CVs. For stimuli of the same phonetic identity, the speech-induced variability across and within talkers and the across-listener variability were substantial and of similar magnitude. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5572 (#complicates, via linked claim)

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

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Loud flanking syllables immediately preceding a soft target induce forward masking — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4045; Steady-state masking noise varies perceptually even with a 100-ms time shift. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5575; Consonant confusions shift with noise type, filtering, and vowel context. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5577 (+2 more)

Related

• Talker identity causes more perceptual variation in consonant perception than noise waveform shifts (similarity 0.91)
• Steady-state masking noise varies perceptually even with a 100-ms time shift. (similarity 0.89)
• Consonant confusions shift with noise type, filtering, and vowel context. (similarity 0.87)
• White masking noise affects consonant perception in time slices as short as 100 ms. (similarity 0.86)
• Speech tokens were embedded in onset-anchored masking noise to control for temporal position. (similarity 0.85)
• Masking noise prevents listeners from using unintended spectral cues (similarity 0.85)
• Masking is quantified by the shift in a listener’s hearing-threshold curve (similarity 0.84)
• Masking experiments infer auditory representation from masker effects on signals. (similarity 0.84)
• Forward masking measures temporal processing between distinct sounds. (similarity 0.84)
• Masking depends on stimulus fluctuations in ways steady-state models cannot predict. (similarity 0.84)
• Prolonged forward masking makes vowels mask consonants in impaired ears (similarity 0.84)
• Tone, noise, and independently modulated tone maskers produce equal speech masking. (similarity 0.83)
• Only simultaneous masking arises in cochlear peripheral processing (similarity 0.83)
• Noise and reverberation both mask consonants, which are about 20 dB quieter than vowels (similarity 0.83)
• A masker raises the audibility threshold of a test sound. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Talker identity causes more perceptual variation in consonant perception than noise waveform shifts #complicates (0.80) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5572
• Masking experiments infer auditory representation from masker effects on signals. #expands (0.72) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 441