Patent ID: 7778434

Claim:
A hearing aid comprising: a) a flexible plug that is sized and shaped to fit a user's ear canal; b) a stent embedded in the plug, the stent having a first smaller diameter at a temperature below body temperature and being expandable to a second greater diameter when subjected to the user's body temperature in the ear canal of the user; c) a hearing aid body containing electronic hearing aid components and that is selectively affixed to the user's body outside the ear canal; d) a conduit that connects the hearing aid body to the plug, the conduit enabling sound emitted by the hearing aid to travel via the conduit to the flexible plug so that the user is able to hear the sound received by the plug when the plug occupies the user's ear canal, wherein the conduit is a flexible tube, the tube has a central longitudinal lumen, and the tube terminates adjacent the stent.