Characterising tinnitus using functional near-infrared spectroscopy

A method for characterising tinnitus in a subject using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the method comprising:

• receiving data at a processor device, the received data comprising fNIRS signals indicative of cortical activity in one or more regions of the subject's brain;
• and
• processing the received data using the processor device, the processing comprising:
• inputting, into a model, one or more feature values including one or more features of the received data,
• wherein the model is configured to provide one or more classification results based on the one or more feature values, the one or more classification results being indicative of at least one characteristic of tinnitus in the subject,
• wherein the received data comprises evoked response data comprising fNIRS signals indicative of cortical activity in at least one region of the subject's brain resulting from a plurality of discrete stimuli delivered to the subject in sequence, wherein the sequence includes one or more non-stimulus interval periods,
• wherein the one or more feature values include one or more features of the evoked response data, and
• wherein the plurality of discrete stimuli comprises at least one of a plurality of discrete auditory stimuli and a plurality of discrete visual stimuli.