What does this research mean for the field?

Percussive amplitude envelopes in auditory alarms produce substantially lower masking thresholds than flat envelopes, reducing the likelihood of simultaneous signals obscuring one another. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate whether modifying auditory amplitude envelopes from flat to percussive reduces masking between overlapping alarm signals across different target timings.

September 8, 2026Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

EXPRESS: Investigating Amplitude Envelope’s Role in Auditory Alarm Masking

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Authors

CWConnor WesselMcMaster University JAJessica AgboladeMcMaster University ALAndres E. LopezMcMaster University

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Implication

Experimental study reveals percussive sound envelopes reduce auditory masking thresholds in human listeners, suggesting acoustic envelope design can improve hospital alarm detectability.

Key Points

To investigate whether modifying auditory amplitude envelopes from flat to percussive reduces masking between overlapping alarm signals across different target timings.
Tested human listeners using a within-subjects three-alternative forced choice task to detect a target tone embedded within white-noise masker tones.
Manipulated the masker amplitude envelope (flat versus percussive) and relative target timing.
Calculated auditory masking thresholds using a 2-down 1-up adaptive staircase procedure.
Percussive maskers generated substantially lower masking thresholds compared to flat maskers.
The threshold reduction for percussive envelopes persisted consistently regardless of target timing relative to the masker.

Cite This Study

Wessel et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9fd7ab58e84d0ff5b467d1 https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218261489253

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Implication

Experimental study reveals percussive sound envelopes reduce auditory masking thresholds in human listeners, suggesting acoustic envelope design can improve hospital alarm detectability.

EXPRESS: Investigating Amplitude Envelope’s Role in Auditory Alarm Masking

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

EXPRESS: Investigating Amplitude Envelope’s Role in Auditory Alarm Masking

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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