The Masking of Clicks by Pure Tones and Bands of Noise

Abstract

Pure tones and various bands of noise were used to mask clicks that were produced by electrical square pulses through a moving-coil type earphone. Results indicate that it is difficult to generalize about the masking of clicks by pure tones from observations on only a few observers because of sizeable individual differences. The masking of clicks by noise is related to the intensity and the spectral distr. of the noise. Both pure tones and narrow bands of noise provide max. masking in the region between 1000 and 3000 c.p.s. Generally speaking, noise is a more efficient masker of clicks than are single pure tones. Although the measurements were made with masking frequencies below 6500 c.p.s., there is some evidence that the audibility of certain clicks in noise is markedly dependent on frequencies above 6500 c.p.s. The linear relation between the masking of speech or pure tones by noise and the intensity of the noise does not apply here.