The Role of Interaural Phase in Loudness

Recent experiments have shown that the interaural phase angle is a critical factor in the masking of pure tones and speech by white noise. The present study extends these findings to the role of interaural phase in loudness. It is found that the reduction in loudness which is effected by noise under several conditions of interaural phase parallels the masking that is produced under similar conditions. These effects are marked, however, only at signal‐to‐noise ratios in the region of the masked threshold. At higher signal‐to‐noise ratios, approximating listening in the quiet, the effect of interaural phase on loudness is nil. A convenient basis for discussion is provided by considering the masked and masking signals in terms of the figure‐ground relation between them.