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Masking-level difference in filtered-random and amplitude-modulated noise.
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|June 1, 1984
Summary
Masking noise characteristics differ between filtered-random and amplitude-modulated types. Temporal features, not just power spectrum, influence auditory perception, impacting masked thresholds.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Psychoacoustics
- Signal Processing
Background:
- Understanding auditory masking is crucial for explaining how sounds are perceived in noisy environments.
- The influence of masker characteristics, such as spectral content and temporal structure, on auditory thresholds is a key area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the masking properties of filtered-random noise and amplitude-modulated noise.
- To investigate the role of temporal characteristics in auditory masking using a masking-level difference paradigm.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments were conducted using a masking-level difference (MLD) paradigm with 500-Hz tone thresholds.
- Stimuli included filtered-random noise and amplitude-modulated noise presented in various bandwidths and binaural conditions (S0N0, SpiN0, SmNm).
Main Results:
- Amplitude-modulated noise yielded lower thresholds in the SpiN0 condition compared to filtered noise.
- When bandwidths were similar, SpiN0 thresholds were comparable, but S0N0 thresholds differed between noise types.
- Coinciding zero-amplitude crossings between tone and masker increased thresholds by 1.2–2.0 dB for amplitude-modulated noise.
Conclusions:
- Filtered-random noise and amplitude-modulated noise exhibit distinct masking characteristics.
- Auditory perception is influenced by both the power spectrum and temporal features of the masker.