The veteran's claim for separate schedular 10 percent ratings for bilateral tinnitus is denied as the current version of Diagnostic Code 6260 precludes such evaluations.
The deciding factor: VA's General Counsel interpreted Diagnostic Code 6260 to only allow a single 10 percent rating regardless of whether tinnitus was perceived in one ear or both, and this interpretation has been upheld by legal precedent.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 22, 2006
- Citation
- 0636365
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0636365.
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Related decisions
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- Granted
The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected major depressive disorder.,The Veteran's bilateral tinnitus is granted based on in-service noise exposure and current diagnosis.,The Veteran's Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is granted due to presumptive service connection for exposure at Fort McClellan, Alabama.,The Veteran's status post total shoulder replacement, to include degenerative arthritis, is granted as incurred in service.,The Veteran's scar, residual right shoulder surgery, is granted as it is related to his now service-connected status post total shoulder replacement.
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- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are causally related to his in-service hazardous noise exposure. The Board considered the Veteran's credible testimony regarding the onset of these conditions during service.
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