Hearing instrument having a digitally tunable antenna

A method of operating a hearing instrument, the hearing instrument comprising a microphone for reception of sound and conversion of the received sound into a corresponding first audio signal, a signal processor configured to provide a second audio signal compensating a hearing loss of a user of the hearing instrument based on the first audio signal, a speaker configured to provide an output sound signal based on the second audio signal, a wireless communication unit coupled to the signal processor, and an antenna structure coupled to the wireless communication unit, the antenna structure comprising an antenna element having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to a feed of the antenna structure, and wherein the hearing instrument also comprises a controllable component coupled in series with respect to at least a part of the antenna element, the method comprising:

• receiving a data communication signal;
• determining a signal quality of the received data communication signal;
• and
• providing a control signal to the controllable component in response to the determined signal quality, wherein the control signal is provided to control the controllable component to change a characteristic of the antenna structure.