Patent ID: 7406179

Claim:
A hearing instrument system for detecting the insertion or removal of a hearing instrument into an ear canal of a hearing instrument user, the hearing instrument being configured to occlude the ear canal, comprising: a first acoustic transducer configured to receive a first electrical signal and in response radiate acoustic energy; first level detection circuitry coupled to the first acoustic transducer and operable to receive the first electrical signal and generate a first intensity signal; a second acoustic transducer configured to receive radiated acoustic energy and in response generate a second electrical signal; the second acoustic transducer being a microphone that is positioned to receive radiated acoustic energy from inside of the occluded ear canal of the hearing instrument user; second level detection circuitry coupled to the second acoustic transducer and operable to receive the second electrical signal and generate a second intensity signal; and signal processing circuitry coupled to the first and second level detection circuitry and operable to receive the first and second intensity signals and compare the first and second intensity signals and determine whether the hearing instrument is inserted into the ear canal or removed based on the comparison.