The Board found that separate schedular ratings for bilateral tinnitus are not warranted under the current regulations and precedent cases. The veteran's claim was denied because the regulatory change did not provide for retroactive application of a different interpretation of Diagnostic Code 6260.
The deciding factor: The regulatory change to Diagnostic Code 6260, effective June 13, 2003, required a single 10 percent rating for tinnitus regardless of whether it is perceived as unilateral or bilateral. The Board applied the pre-change version of the regulation and found that separate ratings were not authorized.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- July 27, 2006
- Citation
- 0622213
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 0622213.
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 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for earlier effective dates and remanded several service connection claims.
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