A torque actuator is regulated so as to permit an activation of the torque actuator such that steering wheel rotary oscillations that occur can be compensated. For this purpose, in one embodiment, a torsion bar torque is detected. A compensation torque is determined as a function of the detected torsion bar torque by means of a variable-frequency disturbance variable and state variable calculator. The compensation torque or a signal corresponding to the compensation torque is then taken into consideration during activation of the torque actuator.