Patent ID: 7903836

Claim:
An implantable microphone, comprising: a housing; a diaphragm sealably positioned across a recessed surface of the housing, wherein said recessed surface and said diaphragm collectively define a chamber and wherein said diaphragm defines a reference plane; a pressure sensitive element operatively interconnected to said chamber for detecting pressure fluctuations and generating an output signal, said output signal being operative to actuate an actuator of a hearing instrument; and wherein a depth of said recessed surfaces varies relative to said reference plane across at least a portion of a width of said recessed surface, wherein said diaphragm is operative to deflect toward said recessed surface in response to a pressure differential across said diaphragm, and wherein in response to a predetermined pressure differential an entirety of said recessed surface is at a distance of less than 0.0015 in. from said diaphragm.