An artificial intelligence that can diagnose tinnitus based on the results of brain imaging, rather than subjective tests, may help improve treatments for the condition. Mehrnaz Shoushtarian at the Bionics Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and her colleagues have developed an algorithm that can detect whether a person has tinnitus, and also how severe it is. The AI can spot the presence of tinnitus with 78 per cent accuracy, and distinguish between mild and severe forms with 87 per cent accuracy. Chronic tinnitus affects around 15 per cent of adults. The condition is usually diagnosed by a hearing test, by self-reporting or based on a subjective questionnaire.