'When the default mode network is on, the dorsal attention network is off, and vice versa. The precuneus is connected to two inversely related networks in the brain: the dorsal attention network, which is active when something holds a person's attention and the default mode network, which are the 'background' functions of the brain when the person is at rest and not thinking of anything in particular. Using functional MRI to look for patterns across brain function and structure, the new study found that tinnitus is, in fact, in the hearers' heads - in a region of the brain called the precuneus, to be precise. 'We have been so swamped by variability that finding anything that is consistent, that gives us one objective metric for tinnitus, is very exciting,' said Husain, who also is affiliated with the neuroscience program and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at Illinois. There are a lot of variables - for example, duration, cause, severity, concurrent hearing loss, age, type of sound, which ear and more - which have led to inconsistent study results.

One factor that has complicated tinnitus research is the variability in the patient population. Medically, we can only manage some symptoms, not cure it, because we don't understand what's causing it.' They may think it's all in your imagination. 'So you can have this constant sound in your head, but nobody else can hear it and they may not believe you. It cannot be measured by any device we have, the way we can measure diabetes or hypertension,' said study leader Fatima Husain, a professor of speech and hearing science at the University of Illinois.

The finding provides patients with validation of their experiences and hope for future treatment options.

The body holds the score