Method and apparatus for environment detection and adaptation in hearing assistance devices. Performance of feature extraction and environment detection to perform adaptation to hearing assistance device operation for a number of hearing assistance environments. The system detecting various noise sources independent of speech. The system determining adaptive actions to take place based on predicted sound class. The system providing individually customizable response to inputs from different sound classes. In various embodiments, the system employing a Bayesian classifier to perform sound classifications using a priori probability data and training data for predetermined sound classes. Additional method and apparatus can be found in the specification and as provided by the attached claims and their equivalents.