The Board denied the veteran's request for separate 10 percent disability ratings for each ear under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.87, Diagnostic Code 6260 (2003) for service-connected bilateral tinnitus, finding that neither the old nor the new regulations referred to the evaluation of tinnitus were more favorable to the veteran.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the most recent changes to 38 C.F.R. § 4.87, Diagnostic Code 6260 merely made explicit what had been a longstanding VA practice regarding the evaluation of bilateral tinnitus and did not involve any substantive change to the rating criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- July 9, 2004
- Citation
- 0418312
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0418312.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date, service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and service connection for insomnia.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for bilateral tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, resulting in their dismissal.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hypertension and remanded the claims for bilateral tinnitus, right knee osteoarthritis, and left knee osteoarthritis due to inadequate medical evidence.
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