I have had tinnitus for about 7 or 8 years now in varying intensities and somehow have never thought to do this as an extended exercise (a good 30 seconds of massaging just now).
I'm not gonna say I heard silence for the first time in years or anything, but I just heard something relatively close, for just a short little while.
The audiologist I saw when this all first started also assumed it was stress and/or blood pressure and/or modern way of life issues, as she couldn't find anything physically wrong with my ears.
I think mine might be related to stress, hypertension, and an all-around lack of relaxation.