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Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is extremely common in veterans and is generally rated at a single 10% level. Claims often succeed on credible lay statements of in-service noise exposure and continuity of symptoms.
VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 6260
Tinnitus is the medical name for ringing, buzzing, hissing, or roaring sounds you hear when there is no outside noise. The VA treats it as a hearing (auditory) condition. To be "service-connected," the VA generally looks for three things: a current diagnosis of tinnitus, an event or exposure during service (such as loud noise from weapons, aircraft, or machinery), and a link between the two. The VA can grant service connection for recurrent tinnitus no matter what caused it, as long as that connection to service is shown.
The VA rates tinnitus under 38 CFR 4.87, Diagnostic Code 6260. The rule sets a single, flat 10 percent rating for recurrent tinnitus. That 10 percent is the maximum under this code, and it is the same whether you hear the sound in one ear, both ears, or in your head. Under the notes to DC 6260, the VA assigns only one evaluation for recurrent tinnitus, but that tinnitus rating may be combined with separate ratings for hearing loss or related ear conditions (such as Diagnostic Codes 6100, 6200, or 6204). The VA does not rate "objective" tinnitus (a sound others can actually hear) under this code; instead it is rated as part of whatever underlying condition is causing it.
Tinnitus is not named on the VA's special exposure presumptive lists — for example, the Agent Orange herbicide list, the Camp Lejeune water list, and the burn-pit/PACT Act lists under 38 CFR 3.309 do not include tinnitus by name, so those pathways usually do not remove the need to link tinnitus to service. There is, however, a different presumptive route: the VA recognizes "other organic diseases of the nervous system" as chronic diseases under 38 CFR 3.309(a), a group the VA has long applied to conditions like tinnitus and hearing loss. If such a chronic disease appears to at least a 10 percent (compensable) degree within one year after you leave service, and the other rules of 38 CFR 3.307 are met, the VA may presume it is connected to service even without proof of symptoms during service. A denial is not the end of the road — the VA has appeal and supplemental-claim options if you have new evidence.
This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work, not legal advice or a VA decision about your own claim.
Grounded in federal regulations and VA guidance, independently reviewed June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.
Across 86,613 real Board appeals for Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
A denial is often not the end either — remands (shown below) are sent back for more development and can still end in a grant. These are historical outcomes, not a prediction of your case.
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Among the appeals that were granted or partly granted, the most common ways Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) was linked to service:
In appeals where Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
These appeals involved a recognized exposure — which can mean the link to service is presumed, with no nexus to prove:
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and thoracolumbar disorder (DDD of the thoracic and lumbar spine) have been granted. The decision also dismisses his claim for a compensable rating for left shoulder injury with pain.
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are due to in-service noise exposure.
An initial 30 percent rating for radiculopathy, right upper extremity, is granted.,An initial rating in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy, left upper extremity, is denied.
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to service, and the claim for service connection is granted.
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected, with a rating of 10 percent.,The Veteran's back disability remains at a 40 percent rating. The Board finds the evidence does not support an increase to higher ratings.,The Veteran's radiculopathy of the femoral nerve in both lower extremities are each granted initial 20 percent ratings.,Service connection for GAD, bilateral hearing loss, and chronic kidney pain is remanded.,A compensable disability rating (greater than 0 percent) for chronic kidney infections is also remanded.
Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
New decisions are added every week, and older years are actively being backfilled — a year that looks thin or missing here (especially 2011–2017) is a gap in our library, not in the Board’s decisions.
Veterans appealing Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) often look at outcomes for these too:
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