Implantable hearing prosthesis

An implantable hearing prosthesis comprising:

• a microphone configured to receive sound signals and to output microphone information;
• an implantable upgrade module including a pre-processing unit configured to generate audio signals based on the microphone information;
• a implantable main module, physically separate from and electrically connected to the upgrade module, comprising:
• a sound processing unit configured to generate stimulation information based on the audio signals received from the pre-processing unit, and a stimulator unit configured to generate electrical stimulation signals based on the stimulation information;
• and
• an electrode assembly configured to deliver the stimulation signals to the recipient.

A method of converting sounds signal into a hearing percept, comprising:

• receiving sound signals with an implanted microphone;
• converting, with a pre-processing unit positioned in an implantable upgrade module, the microphone information into audio signals;
• providing the audio signals to a sound processing unit positioned in a implantable main module that is physically separate from, and electrically connected to, the upgrade module;
• generating, with the sound processing unit, stimulation information based on the audio signals;
• generating, with a stimulator unit positioned in the implantable main module, stimulation signals based on the stimulation information;
• and
• delivering the stimulation signals to a recipient with an implantable stimulation module.