The veteran's claim for separate 10 percent disability ratings for bilateral tinnitus was denied as the revised VA rating criteria, effective June 2003, only authorized a single 10 percent evaluation for tinnitus regardless of whether it is perceived as unilateral or bilateral.
The deciding factor: VA regulations and precedent have determined that tinnitus constitutes a single disease entity and thus does not authorize separate ratings for each ear.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- August 18, 2006
- Citation
- 0625482
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 0625482.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a heart disability, granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus and right knee osteochondritis dissecans, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear s/p ACL reconstruction, and denied an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder with generalized anxiety disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, as the evidence did not show that his service-connected disabilities alone were of such nature and severity to preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, sleep disorder, erectile dysfunction, and right eye injury as new and relevant evidence was not received to readjudicate these claims.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, facial numbness (Bell's palsy), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and right knee strain. The claims for a left knee strain, major depressive disorder with anxious distress, cervical neck strain, lumbosacral strain, and bilateral foot disability were remanded.
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