An earpiece can include an Ambient Sound Microphone (ASM), an Ear Canal Receiver (ECR), a transceiver, an illumination element, and a processor to provide visual operational mode indication via the illumination element. The operational mode can correspond to an active phone call, an incoming phone call, a terminated phone, a caller-on-hold condition, a recording mode, a voice mail mode, a mute mode, an audible transparency mode or an ear-plug mode. The intensity, frequency, amplitude, color or duration of the lighting can be adjusted according to the operational mode.