In a method for determining a measured variable of a measured medium, wherein the measured medium is brought in contact with an indicator or an indicator mixture, whose absorption spectrum has a first, and a second, wavelength range, which essentially do not overlap, a first light source is activated for emitting a first light signal with a wavelength from the first wavelength range and a second light source is activated for emitting a second light signal with a wavelength from the second wavelength range. The intensity of the first light signal is modulated by a first and the intensity of the second light signal by a second, periodic signal, wherein at least a part of the first light signal and at least a part of the second light signal propagate as first and second measurement light signals along a measuring path and are transformed on the measuring path by optical interaction with the indicator or the indicator mixture to transformed measurement light signals, and wherein a total intensity of the transformed first and second measurement light signals is registered. The first periodic signal has a first phase difference relative to the second, periodic signal, and a second phase difference between the total intensity of the transformed first and second measurement light signals and the first, or the second, periodic signal is ascertained. The measured variable is determined with application of the second phase difference.