APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING SPEECH PROCESSORS AND FOR PROVIDING PRIVATE DATA INPUT VIA THE SAME

摘要

A hearing aid device such as a cochlear implant comprising a microphone (116) for receiving ambient sounds as well as spoken or voice commands and for converting said sound into corresponding electrical signals. A processor (142) separates the signal into command signals and voice signals. The voice signals are transmitted to the patient in the usual manner, while the command signals are used to control certain functions of the processor, such as volume control processing criteria selection, or the provision of information such as battery status, the time, the user's body temperature and reminders or notes made by the user. Alarm messages are automatically transmitted to the user when appropriate whereas others are available at a user set time or on demand. The system is customisable allowing for the user to record his/her own messages and to enter commands either by means of a keypad or by speech recognition.