Patent ID: 7929713

Claim:
A system adapted for use in an ear having an ear canal, comprising: a first microphone adapted for use in the ear canal, the first microphone adapted to receive an occluded sound from about the ear canal; a speaker adapted for use in the ear canal, the speaker adapted to transmit a processed remote sound to the ear canal, a processor coupled to the first microphone and the speaker, the processor adapted to process the occluded sound and the remote sound; a wireless transceiver connected to the processor, the wireless transceiver adapted to receive the processed occluded sound from the processor, transmit a first wireless signal representing the occluded sound, and receive a second wireless signal representing the remote sound; a voice operated exchange (VOX) circuit connected to the processor, the VOX circuit including: an occluded sound gating module coupled to the first microphone, the occluded sound gating module adapted to blank or substantially attenuate the occluded sound; and a remote sound gating module coupled to the wireless receiver, the remote sound gating module adapted to blank or substantially attenuate the remote sound; and an earmold housing the first microphone, the speaker, the processor, the wireless transceiver, and the VOX circuit, the earmold configured for use as an in-the-ear (ITE) device.