Remote masking generated by high-frequency two-tone complexes

Auditory masking generated by two-tone complexes centered around 7 000 Hz was measured in 10 young adults with normal hearing sensitivity as a function of the frequency separation (deltaf) and SPL of the masker's components. Remote masking (1) was evident for test signals in the frequency region corresponding to the masker's deltaf; (2) increased with masker SPL, but at a rate less than that usually observed when lower frequency bands of noise are used as maskers, and (3) was relatively constant in magnitude for a given SPL as a function of the masker's deltaf. The masking produced in low-frequency regions by high-frequency two-tone complexes adds support to the hypothesis that remote masking is primarily a result of aural distortion.