[Frequency characteristics of the masking effect: relationship between the characteristic variation factor and the frequency of the tone being masked].

The irregularity coefficient of the frequency characteristics of masking effect is a function of the frequency of masking tone with constant intensity (10 dB SL). The coefficient is growing by 9--12 dB per octave of the masking tone reaching 60 dB at the frequency 10 kHz. Similar dependence was found by measuring the frequency threshold curves of the cochlear nerve fibers. These values of the coefficient could not be obtained with the aid of classical model of the cochlea.