A personal listening device in a handheld form factor includes an input port for receiving an
audio signal, a processor for selecting
equalizer settings responsive to a selected hearing profile, an
equalizer for equalizing the
audio signal according to the
equalizer settings, and an output port for outputting the equalized
audio signal to a speaker, headphone, or other audio
output device. The personal listening device also includes a tone generator and
user input device coupled to the processor, configured to administer a sequence of tones, generate audio instructions, and receive
user input, thereby administering a
hearing test and generating a user hearing profile. The device may be operated to administer multiple tests and store multiple hearing profiles, and to provide hearing profiles to other devices.