HEARING ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING EMOTIONAL STATE

Embodiments herein relate to embodiments herein relate to hearing assistance systems and methods for monitoring a device wearer's emotional state and status. In an embodiment, a hearing assistance system is included having an ear-worn device that can include a control circuit and a microphone in electronic communication with the control circuit. The ear-worn device can be configured to monitor signals from the microphone, analyze the signals in order to identify speech, and transmit data based on the signals representing the identified speech to a separate device. Other embodiments are also included herein.