They did however note that the characteristics of a tinnitus diagnosis, including whether it is intermittent, continuous, pulsatile or non-pulsatile, could offer key indications as to which underlying pathologies are at play.
The scientists also noted that two of the reported cases of vaccine-associated tinnitus had a medical history of otological conditions.
This finding, noted the team, suggests genetic predisposition could play a significant role in determining who’s at risk.
They went on to hypothesise that a possible cause for tinnitus could be reactivity between anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and otological antigens.
As antibodies interact with the antigens along the auditory pathway, they could trigger an inflammatory reaction, explained the authors.