A hearing aid includes a microphone, and a processing unit. The microphone is configured to receive sound incident on the hearing aid and deliver a corresponding microphone output to the processing unit. The processing unit is configured to process the microphone output to determine whether the incident sound comprises potentially harmful sound, and to generate a processor output including a processed version of the microphone output.
A method of protecting a hearing aid wearer from sudden loud sounds uses a microphone in the hearing aid to receive incident sound and deliver a corresponding microphone output to a processing unit in the hearing aid. The processing unit processes the microphone output to generate a first processor output, determined by whether the incident sound includes potentially harmful impulsive sound, and a second processor output including a processed version of the microphone output.