Patent ID: 7867160

Claim:
A hearing aid system for inducing neural impulses that are interpreted as amplified sound by a human subject, said human subject having an ear, a pinna of the ear, an external auditory canal, and a hearing transduction pathway comprising a tympanic membrane, a middle ear and a cochlea, said system comprising: an input transducer assembly which converts an electronic sound signal into a light signal, the input transducer assembly comprising, a housing sized for placement behind the pinna of the ear, a microphone to receive ambient sound and generate the electronic sound signal, and a light source positioned within the housing which receives the electronic sound signal and produces the light signal, an elongate light transmission component comprising one or more light transmission fibers coupled to the light source positioned within the housing, the light transmission component having a cross sectional size and a length to extend from the light source over the pinna and into the external auditory canal such that a distal end of the light transmission component is configured to reside in the external auditory canal near the tympanic membrane with a gap extending between the distal end and the tympanic membrane when the housing is placed behind the pinna; and an output transducer assembly which receives the light signal and converts the light signal to mechanical vibration; wherein the output transducer assembly is sized for placement on the tympanic membrane or within the middle ear to couple to the hearing transduction pathway when positioned on the subject's tympanic membrane or within the middle ear to induce said neural impulses interpreted as amplified sound.