Sound is detected by the microphone (i), which in this illustration is integrated into a behind-the-ear processing unit (ii). The processing unit translates sound into a digital signal that is passed from the transmitter (iii) to the internal receiver stimulator (iv). The receiver stimulator decodes sound information from the processing unit into electric stimuli that are delivered to the cochlea via an electrode array (v). Electric signals from the cochlea are transmitted to the brain by the auditory nerve (vi).