Integrated automatic telephone switch

1. A method for operating a hearing aid comprising:

receiving an acoustic signal having a low frequency component and a high frequency component;

providing an electrical signal representative of the acoustic signal, the electrical signal having a corresponding low frequency component and a high frequency component; and

switching from a first set of stored parameters in the hearing aid to a second set of second stored parameters in the hearing aid to modify a frequency response of the hearing aid in response to a switch in the hearing aid detecting a presence of a magnetic field received from a communication device that generates the acoustic signal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further includes modifying the high frequency component of the electrical signal by attenuating the high frequency component.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further includes boosting a gain for the low frequency component substantially concurrent with modifying the high frequency component.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting a presence of a magnetic field includes detecting the presence of the magnetic field using a reed switch.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein switching from a first set of stored parameters in the hearing aid to a second set of second stored parameters in the hearing aid to modify a frequency response of the hearing aid includes switching to the second set of second stored parameters to operate on the electrical signal as a low pass filter.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein switching from a first set of stored parameters in the hearing aid to a second set of second stored parameters in the hearing aid to modify a frequency response of the hearing aid includes switching from the first set of stored parameters to the second set of stored parameters to modify a frequency response of a programmable analog hearing aid.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein switching from a first set of stored parameters in the hearing aid to a second set of second stored parameters in the hearing aid to modify a frequency response of the hearing aid includes digitally modifying a frequency response of the hearing aid.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein switching from a first set of stored parameters in the hearing aid to a second set of second stored parameters in the hearing aid to modify a frequency response of the hearing aid includes enabling the switching using transistor switches in conjunction with the switch responsive to the magnetic field.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein switching from a first set of stored parameters in the hearing aid to a second set of second stored parameters in the hearing aid to modify a frequency response of the hearing aid includes boosting gain on frequencies less than or equal to 1000 Hz.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein switching from a first set of stored parameters in the hearing aid to a second set of second stored parameters in the hearing aid to modify a frequency response of the hearing aid includes boosting gain on frequencies less than 3000 Hz.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein switching from a first set of stored parameters in the hearing aid to a second set of second stored parameters in the hearing aid to modify a frequency response of the hearing aid includes boosting gain on frequencies between 300 Hz and 1000 Hz.

12. A hearing aid comprising:

a microphone to provide an electrical signal representative of a received acoustic signal having a low frequency component and a high frequency component;

a first memory adapted to provide standard parameters for operating the hearing aid;

a second memory adapted to provide parameters for operating the hearing aid with a communication device;

a signal processor coupled to the microphone, the signal processor response to parameters provided by the first and second memories; and

a switch responsive to a change in detection of a magnetic field, wherein the switch is configured to automatically switch, upon detecting a presence of a magnetic field from the communication device, to enable the second memory to provide parameters for generating a frequency response with increased low frequency gain and reduced high frequency gain relative to a frequency response generated using parameters from the first memory.

13. The hearing aid of claim 12 , wherein the second memory provides parameters for substantially reducing the high frequency component of the electrical signal while boosting a gain for the low frequency component of the electrical signal.

14. The hearing aid of claim 12 , wherein the first memory provides parameters for processing the electrical signal such that a frequency response conforms to a prescription target.

15. The hearing aid of claim 12 , wherein the switch includes a reed switch.

16. The hearing aid of claim 12 , wherein the switch includes a magnetic solid state sensor.

17. A hearing aid comprising:

a circuit board;

a microphone;

a switch responsive to a magnetic field;

an inductive element;

a preamplifier coupled to the inductive element; and

a switch control having a first transistor and a second transistor, the switch control adapted to energize, with the first transistor on, a circuit that includes the inductive element in response to the switch detecting a magnetic field, and to concurrently de-energize, with the second transistor oft a microphone circuit that includes the microphone, wherein the preamplifier, the inductive element, and the switch control are integrated onto the circuit board.

18. The hearing aid of claim 17 , wherein the switch includes a reed switch.

19. The hearing aid of claim 17 , wherein the switch includes a magnetic solid state sensor.

20. The hearing aid of claim 17 , wherein the preamplifier is adapted to set a sensitivity of the inductor element to that of a hearing aid microphone.

21. The hearing aid of claim 17 , wherein the switch control includes a transistor switch for the microphone and a transistor switch for the inductive element.