Patent ID: 8706247

Claim:
A system comprising: an auditory prosthesis configured to be implanted within a head of a patient and to apply electrical stimulation representative of an audio signal to one or more stimulation sites within the patient in accordance with one or more stimulation parameters; a behind-the-ear sound processing unit configured to be secured to an ear of the patient and to transmit the one or more stimulation parameters to the auditory prosthesis; a microphone communicatively coupled to the behind-the-ear sound processing unit and configured to detect the audio signal; and a remote audio processor module separate from the behind-the-ear sound processing unit and communicatively coupled to the behind-the-ear sound processing unit via a communication link; wherein the behind-the-ear sound processing unit transmits the audio signal as detected by the microphone to the remote audio processor module via the communication link, the remote audio processor module performs at least a portion of a signal processing heuristic on the audio signal received from the behind-the-ear sound processing unit to generate an enhanced representation of the audio signal, the remote audio processor module transmits the enhanced representation of the audio signal to the behind-the-ear sound processing unit via the communication link, the behind-the-ear sound processing unit performs a remaining portion of the signal processing heuristic on the enhanced representation of the audio signal; and the behind-the-ear sound processing unit generates one or more stimulation parameters in accordance with the performed remaining portion of the signal processing heuristic for transmission to the auditory prosthesis.