The Board has denied the appellant's claim for separate compensable evaluations for service-connected bilateral tinnitus as there is no basis under current VA regulations and criteria to assign such ratings.
The deciding factor: VA's Secretary has indicated that only a single 10 percent disability rating is assignable for bilateral tinnitus, regardless of whether it is perceived in one ear, both ears, or the head. The Board found that separate ratings for each ear may not be assigned under any diagnostic code and concluded that the appellant does not meet the legal criteria for such ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 15, 2005
- Citation
- 0504054
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 0504054.
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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