Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of adapting signal processing characteristics of a portable communication device to a hearing impaired user, comprising the steps of determining a perceptual reference level (PRL) of a first stimuli signal (FSS) in a reference frequency band (RFB) by presenting said first stimuli signal (FSS) to said hearing impaired user, and obtaining perceptual judgements of a loudness of said first stimuli signal (FSS) from said hearing impaired user, and determining said perceptual reference level (PRL) of a second stimuli signal (SSS) in a further frequency band (FFB) by presenting said second stimuli signal (SSS) to said hearing impaired user, and requesting said hearing impaired user to compare a loudness of said second stimuli signal (SSS) with said loudness of said first stimuli signal (FSS).

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for managing the joint contribution of noise exposure of the ear of a user of the apparatus from a loudspeaker of the apparatus as well as from ambient noise so that the risk of risk of noise induced hearing losses is reduced. By assessing the joint actual sound energy delivered to the ear and feeding said assessment to a model describing the accumulated risk of hearing loss due to said sound energy accumulated over a time period, an estimate of the current risk of hearing loss is obtained. When said risk estimate passes a predetermined threshold, one or more protective measures are taken.

Abstract: The invention relates to a hearing aid with optimized and controllable power consumption. The power consumption is controlled by varying the voltage level of the supply voltage and/or the frequency of the clock signal. Furthermore the invention relates to a method of optimizing the power consumption of a hearing aid, by calibrating its supply voltage and its clock frequency, and the relation between them, according to the production characteristics of the digital signal processor.