Patent ID: 7809149

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a hearing instrument housing; a first directional microphone having first and second sound ports, the first directional microphone producing a first microphone signal; a second directional microphone having third and fourth sound ports, the second directional microphone producing a second microphone signal; and signal processing electronics for adjustment of phase and amplitude of the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal, the signal processing electronics adapted to apply an amplitude A and a phase φ to the first microphone signal to produce a first signal and to apply an amplitude C and phase ψ to the second microphone signal to produce a second signal, the signal processing electronics further adapted to add or subtract the first signal and the second signal using a complex addition or subtraction process to create a complex sum and further adapted to produce a magnitude of the complex sum, wherein values of A, C, φ, and ψ are selected to provide a desired reception pattern using the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal, and wherein the first, second, third, and fourth sound ports extend through the hearing instrument housing, and wherein at least two of the sound ports are positioned on both sides of a plane of symmetry of the hearing instrument housing.