The present invention relates to an audio device with a housing, a
microphone arm and a
detector for determining an orientation of the
microphone arm relative to the housing. The invention may advantageously be applied in audio devices having a
microphone arm, such as headsets, earphones, hearing protectors and other audio devices used for sound
pickup. The audio device (1) comprises a housing (2), a microphone arm (3) that is mechanically and movably connected to the housing (2), a microphone unit (4) arranged at or in the microphone arm (3) and configured to pick up sound (5) from the environment of the audio device (1) and provide a corresponding microphone
audio signal (M), a
signal processor (5) arranged at or in the housing (2) and configured to provide
electric power (P) to the microphone unit (4), and a flexible substrate (6) extending in a length direction (L) between a first end (7) mechanically connected to the housing (2) and a second opposite end (8) mechanically connected to the microphone arm (3). The flexible substrate (6) is configured to bend in dependence on the microphone arm (3) moving relative to the housing (2) and comprises one or more electrical conductors (9) electrically connecting the microphone unit (4) and the
signal processor (5) to convey the
electric power (P) from the
signal processor (5) to the microphone unit (4) and / or the microphone
audio signal (M) from the microphone unit (4) to the signal processor (5). The flexible substrate (6) further comprises a bend sensor (10) that is configured to change the value of an electric property in dependence on a bending of a first portion (11) of the flexible substrate (6), and the audio device (1) further comprises a bend
detector (12) electrically connected to the bend sensor (10) and configured to estimate an orientation (O) of the microphone arm (3) relative to the housing (2) in dependence on the value of the electric property of the bend sensor (10). Arranging the bend sensor (10) at or in the flexible substrate (6) may provide a both reliable and cost-effective
estimation of the orientation (O) of the microphone arm (43).