It seems to me there may be some ambiguity in how somatic tinnitus is understood by many, but I understood it as tinnitus caused by a physical problem in your back, neck, jaw, ...
I understand though what Dr Susan Shore means when she speaks of "somatic tinnitus".
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Somatic tinnitus
Somatic tinnitus is a type of tinnitus that is typically related to physical movement and touch. It can be generated by muscle spasms in the ear or neck, and by other mechanical sources. Although sound therapy can be used for somatic tinnitus, often times other management techniques, such as massage therapy can also be helpful.
Anything that causes the neck to twist, such as a pillow or turning the neck to look into a microscope, can be the source of somatic tinnitus.
Dental problems such as impacted wisdom teeth and popping of the jaw can also create this type of tinnitus.
Somatic tinnitus is also referred to as conductive tinnitus, meaning it is tinnitus caused by more outer functions, rather than sensory/neurological causes. Sometimes mechanical causes of tinnitus can be heard by others.
Source: ReSound
The somatosensory system is a part of the sensory nervous system. This is a complex network of sensory and neurons that respond to changes at the surface or inside the body. These changes can include movement, pressure, touch, temperature or pain.
Somatic (also called somatosensory) tinnitus (ST) is a subtype of subjective tinnitus, where changed somatosensory information from the cervical spine or jaw area causes or changes a patient's tinnitus perception.
Since Levine's first publication in 1999, several animal and human studies have found connections between the somatosensory system of the cervical (neck) and temporomandibular (jaw joint) area and the cochlear nuclei (CN), offering a physiological explanation for ST. According to these studies, cervical or temporomandibular somatosensory information is transported to the brain by neural fibres from cell bodies located in the dorsal root ganglia or the trigeminal ganglion. Some of these fibres also project to the central auditory system. This enables the somatosensory system to influence the auditory system by altering spontaneous rates or synchrony of firing among neurons in the CN, inferior colliculus or auditory cortex. In this way, the somatosensory system is able to alter the pitch or loudness of the tinnitus.
Source: BTA
Modulation of tinnitus characteristics such as pitch and loudness has been extensively described following movements of the head, neck and limbs, vertical or horizontal eye gaze, pressure on myofascial trigger points, cutaneous stimulation of the hands, electrical stimulation of the median nerve, and transcranial direct current stimulation. Modulation of tinnitus follows complex interactions between auditory and somatosensory afferents and can be favored by underlying somatic disorders. When tinnitus appears to be preceded or strictly linked to a somatic disorder, and therefore related to problems of the musculoskeletal system rather than of the ear, it is defined somatic tinnitus. A correct diagnosis and treatment of somatic disorders underlying tinnitus play a central role for a correct management of somatic tinnitus. However, the identification of somatic tinnitus may be complex in some cases. In this paper, after a general review of the current evidences for somatic tinnitus available in the literature, we present and discuss some cases of patients in which somatic modulation of tinnitus played a role–although different from case to case-in their tinnitus, describing the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches followed in each individual case and the results obtained, also highlighting unexpected findings and pitfalls that may be encountered when approaching somatic tinnitus patients.
Tinnitus can be evoked or modulated by inputs from the somato-sensory, somato-motor and visual– motor systems in some individuals. This means that the psychoacoustic attributes of tinnitus (loudness and pitch) might change-though often only temporarilyfollowing external stimuli, such as the forceful muscle contractions of head, neck and limbs, orofacial movements, eye movements in the horizontal or vertical axis, pressure on myofascial trigger points, cutaneous stimulation of the hand/fingertip region, and of the face; electrical stimulation of the median nerve and hand or finger movements. Modulation of tinnitus represents a good example of central integration in the central nervous system, following interactions between auditory and somatosensory afferents occur as early in the auditory pathways as in the cochlear nucleus, at the site of convergence of the projections from the auditory nerve and trigeminal and dorsal column ganglia and brain stem nuclei.
Somatic modulation of tinnitus may be associated to underlying somatic disorders. When tinnitus appears to be preceded or strictly linked to a somatic disorder, and therefore related to problems of the musculoskeletal system rather than of the ear, it is defined somatic tinnitus.
Source: TinnitusJournal
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