Contribution of Cochlear Compression to Discrimination of Rippled Spectra in On- and Low-frequency Noise

The goal of the study was to assess cochlear compression when rippled-spectrum signals are perceived in noise assuming that the noise might produce both masking and confounding effects. In normal listeners, discrimination between rippled signals with and without ripple phase reversals was assessed in background noise. The signals were band-limited (0.5 oct at a - 6-dB level) rippled noise centered at 2 kHz, with a ripple density of 3.5 oct^-1. The noise (masker) was band-limited nonrippled noise centered at either 2 kHz (on-frequency masker) or 1 kHz (low-frequency masker). The masker was simultaneously presented with the signals. Masker levels at the discrimination threshold were measured as a function of the signal level using the adaptive (staircase) two-alternative forced-choice procedure. For the on-frequency masker, the searched-for function had a slope of 0.98 dB/dB. For the low-frequency masker, the function had a slope of 1.19 dB/dB within a signal level range of 30 to 40 dB sound pressure level (SPL) and as low as 0.15 dB/dB within a signal level range of 70 to 80 dB SPL. These results were interpreted as indicating compression of responses to both the signal and on-frequency masker and no compression of the effect of the low-frequency masker. In conditions when above-threshold signals are presented in simultaneous noise (the masker), cochlear compression manifests to a substantial degree despite possible confounding effects.