A method for calibrating a micromechanical sensor element, a piece of primary information describing a motion-state of the micromechanical sensor element being ascertained by the micromechanical sensor element during a first time interval, a piece of reference information describing the motion-state of the micromechanical sensor element being ascertained during a second time interval on the basis of an acoustic signal emitted by a sound source, the first time interval and the second time interval overlapping at least partially with respect to time, and the reference information being compared with the primary information in order to calibrate the micromechanical sensor element.