Finally ...

Fig 5. Group averaged auditory responses recorded from channels over the left and right temporal cortex.

HbO (A) and HbR (B) responses shown. Channel numbers are shown above plots. Vertical lines show stimulus onset and offset times at 0 and 15 seconds. 

This set of PLOS ONE squiggles, show, for the first time, tinnitus running in a person's head in real time, something not thought possible until now. With this finding in hand,  the old saw it's just in your head no longer applies as severe tinnitus, along with hearing loss, are conditions yours truly suffers from 24/7. 

Finally, as the title for this blurb, is more than just apropos as this new found ability to measure tinnitus accurately may be the start point needed to solving a truly wicked problem 15% of us rubes constantly deal with every day of our lives.

UP TO 15 PERCENT OF ADULTS around the world are plagued by a constant roaring or ringing in the ears that only they can hear. And with no way to test or treat it, this subjective experience, called tinnitus, can go undiagnosed for years.

But in a new study, researchers announce they can objectively test for both the presence and severity of someone's tinnitus for the first time, using a brain-reading cap and machine learning. In their trials, this technique was able to determine the severity of a person's tinnitus with close to 90 percent accuracy.

Conclusion

WHAT THEY FOUND — Analysis of the fNIRS scans revealed a significant statistical difference in the neural connectivity between cortical areas of the brains of people with and without tinnitus. Interestingly, the researchers also found that people with tinnitus displayed damped responses to both visual and auditory stimuli. This suggests tinnitus may not just interfere with how a person processes sound signals, but other sensory information, too. Essentially, tinnitus may alter a person's entire experience of the world.

Exactly

The hardware used.

A person wearing an fNIRS headcap.Mehrnaz Shoushtarian

Sign me up coach, I'm more than just ready to find out just how intense my tinnitus truly is.