Abstract:
Multimedia playing apparatuses and methods of measuring hearing characteristics of a user and outputting a sound modulated according to the hearing characteristics of the user are provided. A multimedia playing apparatus includes a sound output unit configured to output a sound comprising of one or more phonemes, and a user interface configured to receive a user response to the phonemes. The multimedia playing apparatus further includes a processor configured to acquire hearing characteristics of a user based on the user response, and determine an output level and/or an output time of the sound for each of frequency bands based on the hearing characteristics of the user. The sound output unit is further configured to output the sound according to the output level and/or the output time of the sound for each of the frequency bands.