An auditory prosthesis (30) comprising a microphone (27) for receiving thesound and producing a microphone signal corresponding to the received sound,an output device for providing audio signals in a form receivable by a user ofthe prosthesis (30), a sound processing unit (33) operable to receive themicrophone signal and carry out a processing operation on the microphonesignal to produce an output signal in a form suitable to operate the outputdevice, wherein the sound processing unit (33) is operable in a first mode inwhich the processing operation comprises at least one variable processingfactor which is adjustable by a user to a setting which causes the outputsignal of the sound processing unit (33) to be adjusted according to thepreference of the user for the characteristics of the current acousticenvironment.
