The hearing device comprises a connector (2) having at least one electrical contact (6); and a user control (8); wherein said user control (8) comprises said at least one electrical contact (6). Typically, said connector is a connector for providing a communication connection to said hearing device. The user control can be a pushbutton switch. In one embodiment, said connector comprises at least two electrical contacts (6), and said user control comprises a shorting member (12) for shorting said at least two electrical contacts when operated. In one embodiment, said user control comprises an elastic member (14), which is deformed when said user control is operated, for resetting said user control into its original position. Through this, a small-size hearing device can be realized. The method of operating a hearing device comprises the step of using at least one electrical contact (6) of a connector (2) of said hearing device as a part of a user control (8) of said hearing device.