Patent ID: 7651460

Claim:
A hearing system for improving a user's hearing, comprising: a sound processing device adapted to receive and convert sound into an electrical signal; a coil assembly for receiving the electrical signal from the sound processing device and converting the electrical signal into an electromagnetic signal and wherein the coil assembly is sized to be implanted in a trough within a bony canal wall of the user adjacent to and separate from an ear canal of the user, wherein the coil assembly comprises: (a) a core structure constructed of a material having a high magnetic permeability, the core structure comprising a core arm having a first end and a second end, and a core tail which extends from the second end of the core arm and wherein the core tail has an outer diameter which is greater than an outer diameter of the core arm, and (b) a coiled wire structure adapted to receive the electrical signal from the sound processing device, wherein at least a portion of the coiled wire structure is positioned about at least a portion of the core arm of the core structure forming a coil portion such that when the coiled wire structure receives the electrical signal, the electromagnetic signal is induced in the coil portion; and a magnet assembly adapted to be positioned within a middle ear of an ear of the user and in contact with at least a portion of at least one ossicle within the middle ear, wherein the magnet assembly is vibratingly responsive to the electromagnetic signal induced in the coil portion and transmitted by the coil assembly.