A method for operating a digital, programmable hearing aid is provided that uses both a transmission characteristic of a normal amplification as well as a transmission characteristic of a maximum amplification of an audio signal over a frequency range that can be nearly freely configured. Given a modification of the amplification by settings at the hearing aid as well as using parameters that result from the signal processing, the gain for the overall system is always calculated utilizing all parameters and is potentially limited to the maximum amplification at the respective frequency if this would otherwise be exceeded.