Apparatus for use in a hearing aid wherein a first microphone is connected
to the hearing aid case and exposed to free air and a second microphone is connected
to the hearing aid case and sealed from free air. The audio inputs from the two
microphones are applied to a subtractive circuit so as to cancel any audio signals
transmitted through the case of the hearing aid while passing audio signals received
by the microphone exposed to free air. In another aspect of the invention, a hearing
aid of the behind-the-ear (BTE) type couples sound from the hearing aid loudspeaker
through a hollow tube to an inner portion of the ear. A second hollow tube is coupled
between a third microphone on the hearing aid case and an outer portion of the
ear. Some sound emanating from the tube disposed in the inner ear, exits the ear
and is picked up by the second tube and directed to the third microphone. The signal
from the third microphone is nulled out by the electronic circuitry of the hearing
aid. The gain and phase of the signals picked up by the second tube are automatically
adjusted to provide the intended nulling and resulting minimization of acoustical feedback.