Decrements in broadband noise stimuli were produced by changing the intensity of the noise for a brief interval. As the duration of the interval increases, less change in level is needed to detect the alteration. One can interpret these experiments as probing the impulse response of the auditory temporal mechanism in the manner suggested by Buunen and van Valkenburg [Jr. Acoust. Soc. Am.65, 534–537 (1979)]. Unlike their results, our measurements are well fit by an exponential function with a short (8–10 ms) time constant. Our results are consistent with the model proposed by Viemeister [Jr. Acoust. Soc. Am.66, 1364–1380 (1979)] to explain his results obtained with the modulation transfer function (MTF). Direct measurement of the modulation transfer function for these same listeners indicates good agreement between the time constant measured in the gap experiment and the low‐pass break point measured in the MTF. We also explored increments in the noise stimuli instead of decrements. The data show symmetry when the increase or decrease in the noise rms is used to express the change in the stimulus. [Work supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.]