The challenge

Tinnitus is a condition that causes you to hear sounds, like ringing, buzzing or hissing, when no external sound exists. It is an entirely subjective phenomenon: there is no objective test to establish its existence in the way that, for example, high blood pressure can be established by measuring blood pressure. More than two million Dutch people suffer from tinnitus, and this number is growing every year.

As tinnitus originates in the brain, it is theoretically possible to diagnose it objectively using an EEG, a brain scan that records electrical activity in the brain. However, to achieve this it is first necessary to identify a specific ‘tinnitus pattern’ in the brain, which is only possible with an entirely data-driven approach. The most promising method is the use of advanced artificial intelligence (AI).

Our support

Immunis Foundation supports research initiated by TinnitusFree Foundation, led by Prof. Dirk de Ridder. The aim of this research is to identify a brain pattern that can:

• objectively establish tinnitus;
• measure the volume of the sound (on a scale of 1 to 10);
• determine the degree of tinnitus-related suffering (on a scale of 1 to 10).

We also support the development of a campaign to raise awareness about this subject. Take a look at the TinnitusFree campaign on Instagram.