VA Tinnitus Rating: What You Need to Know

Tinnitus — that persistent ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears that has no external source — is one of the most-claimed conditions in the VA disability system. Hundreds of thousands of veterans live with it. Most who served around generators, aircraft, artillery, or small arms have it to some degree. Yet a meaningful share of claims still get denied or under-rated because of how VA's rating schedule is structured.

How VA rates tinnitus

Tinnitus is rated under Diagnostic Code 6260 in 38 C.F.R. § 4.87. The rating is straightforward and unusual: there is a single 10% rating for "recurrent" tinnitus. There is no 20% or 30% available for tinnitus standing alone, no matter how severe the ringing or how much it disrupts sleep, concentration, or quality of life. VA also will not award separate 10% ratings for left and right ear — it is a single 10% maximum.

Practically, that means tinnitus is almost always one piece of a larger claim, not the whole claim. It is also the most common "secondary" condition we see — tied to hearing loss, head injury, sinus conditions, mental health, and certain medications.

What VA needs to grant service connection

Three elements: a current diagnosis (the lay statement of a veteran is competent evidence of tinnitus — courts have held repeatedly that ringing in your own ears is something you can report directly); an in-service event, injury, or exposure (loud noise is the obvious one); and a medical nexus connecting the two. Many cases that get denied are missing only the nexus statement.

For nexus, VA examiners frequently rely on the "Duty MOS Noise Exposure Listing" — an internal VA chart that classifies your military occupational specialty as a high, moderate, or low probability of hazardous noise exposure. Combat MOS, aviation maintenance, artillery, infantry, and most mechanic specialties trigger conceded exposure. Office or admin MOS may not. If your MOS is rated "low," lay statements about additional unprotected noise exposure (firing range, mortars, generators on deployment, indirect fire) become much more important.

The C&P exam: what the audiologist will check

Tinnitus exams use the "Tinnitus DBQ" (Disability Benefits Questionnaire), a public form VA publishes. The examiner will ask whether the tinnitus is constant or intermittent, when it began, what it sounds like, whether one ear or both, and whether you have hearing loss. They will document your description verbatim in many cases.

The single most important thing to do at the exam is be accurate. If the tinnitus is constant, say it's constant. If it's intermittent but daily, say that. If it started during service or shortly after a known noise event, say so. 38 C.F.R. § 3.102 gives the veteran the benefit of the doubt when evidence is in equipoise — but that principle only helps if the record actually contains your accurate description.

Common reasons tinnitus claims get denied

1. No nexus on the C&P exam

The examiner writes "less likely than not" related to service. This commonly happens when service treatment records are silent on tinnitus complaints. Solution: a lay statement (yours, plus a buddy if one is available) describing when the tinnitus started and the noise exposure that preceded it. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(a)(2) recognizes competent lay evidence.

2. MOS listed as "low probability"

Even if your MOS was clerical, your duty stations and incidents may tell a different story. Personnel records, awards (combat infantryman badge, combat action badge, sea service ribbon, etc.), and unit history can establish noise exposure that the MOS code alone misses.

3. Onset described as post-service

If you tell the examiner the ringing started years after you separated, the chance of service connection drops. Many veterans say this innocently — they didn't notice the ringing until civilian life got quieter. The accurate description is often "I've had it since service but didn't pay attention to it until later." Say what is true; don't coach yourself either direction.

Tinnitus as a building block: secondary claims

Once tinnitus is service-connected, it becomes the foundation for secondary claims that can carry much higher ratings. Sleep disturbance secondary to tinnitus. Anxiety or depression secondary to chronic tinnitus. Migraine headaches in some cases. These are not automatic — they require independent medical evidence — but the 10% tinnitus rating is what unlocks them.

What it's worth to keep filing for

A 10% rating alone is roughly $175 per month in 2026 dollars and stacks with everything else under VA's combined ratings math (38 C.F.R. § 4.25). For most veterans the real value of pursuing the tinnitus claim is twofold: (1) it's often eligible for an effective date back to discharge if filed within a year, generating retroactive compensation; and (2) it opens the door to secondary claims worth substantially more.