There’s a news article on CBC called “Can retraining the brain help silence tinnitus?“: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/tinnitus-treatment-research-1.7100837. One amazing quote is that:
some of the auditory pathways can integrate information from different senses like skin and the tongue.
Retraining the brain or whole-person ‘somatic learning’ through increased awareness is what Feldenkrais Method does, so the above article resonates. There’s also some controlled research that Feldenkrais can help with tinnitus:
Skuk, V.G.; Böer, E.; Ivansic, D.; Orawa, H.; Herzog, S.; Schröder, M.; Guntinas-Lichius, O.; Dobel, C. The Effectiveness of Online Feldenkrais Lessons on Somatosensory Tinnitus – A Pilot Study. Preprints 2023, 2023101905. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1905.v1
… we found a significant reduction in tinnitus distress along with significant individual differences. Linear mixed-model analyses further suggest an overall decrease in tinnitus severity and neck pain over time. Notably, individual reductions in TFI (TInnitus Functional Index) correlated with reduced neck pain, and reductions in Tinnitus Questionnaire correlated with increased interoceptive awareness.
Tanit Ganz Sanchez, Carina Bezerra Rocha, Diagnosis and management of somatosensory tinnitus: review article, Clinics, Volume 66, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 1089-1094, ISSN 1807-5932, https://doi.org/10.1590/S1807-59322011000600028.
…. many other methods are used to relax the neck muscles, with some success in treating tinnitus: the Alexander method, autogenous training, the Brügger method, craniosacral treatment and Feldenkrais. All act on the same point – the posterior neck muscle.
There are many exercises and approaches in Feldenkrais method that positively impact function of posterior neck muscles. As usually, the key ingredients are integral motor function and awareness rather than working with the muscle itself. Remember, “auditory pathways can integrate information from different senses”. Living and breathing humans have capacity to improve and learn through the senses and movement and this would explain positive results.
Acture FM 