A system and method are provided for capturing hearing characteristics from self-administered hearing tests, including loudness tolerance levels at different sound frequencies, as an individualized shaped auditory profile for automatically enhancing audio to complement and address an individual's hearing deficits experienced via a particular signal pathway including the audio device used to administer the test, the sound environment, and the user's hearing capabilities. The user may self-administer a hearing test on a smartphone or other device. The shaped auditory profile may be used to produce enhanced sound subsequently transmitted to the individual via the same signal pathway. In some aspects, the invention is useful for any individual seeking an enhanced hearing experience, whether having hearing within normal range or hearing that is impaired. Manual gain adjustments applied by a user to the enhanced sound thereby produced may result in changes to a stored shaped auditory profile or the generation of a new profile.