Bose, located in Framingham MA, is sensing the auditory cortex with a wearable device and triggering actions of the wearable device, such as changing a type of music played, changing the volume of the music, acknowledging a notification, or triggering automatic speech recognition (ASR), based on the signals received. In another invention, Bose is also sensing electrical potentials, such as electromyogram (EMG), electrooculogram (EOG), or electroencephalogram (EEG), by placing a sensor in an in-ear device.