title: Auditory filter shapes at 8 and 10 kHz.
abstract: Auditory filter shapes were derived from notched-noise masking data at center frequencies of 8 kHz (for three spectrum levels, N0 = 20, 35, and 50 dB) and 10 kHz (N0 = 50 dB). In order to minimize variability due to earphone placement, insert earphones (Etymotic Research ER2) were used and individual earmolds were made for each subject. These earphones were designed to give a flat frequency response at the eardrum for frequencies up to 14 kHz. The filter shapes were derived under the assumption that a frequency-dependent attenuation was applied to all stimuli before reaching the filter; this attenuation function was estimated from the variation of absolute threshold with frequency for the three youngest normally hearing subjects in our experiments. At 8 kHz, the mean equivalent rectangular bandwidths (ERBs) of the filters derived from the individual data for three subjects were 677, 637, and 1011 Hz for N0 = 20, 35, and 50 dB, respectively. The filters at N0 = 50 dB were roughly symmetrical, while, at the lower spectrum levels, the low-frequency skirt was steeper than the high-frequency skirt. The mean ERB at 10 kHz was 957 Hz. At this frequency, the filters for two subjects were steeper on the high-frequency side than the low-frequency side, while the third subject showed a slight asymmetry in the opposite direction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, England.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Shailer
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Glasberg
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010897:Pitch Discrimination