Tinnitus VA Rating: Why It Is 10% and How to Get It Service Connected (2026)

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Tinnitus is ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears or head with no outside source. It is the most commonly compensated disability among veterans, and it has the simplest rating in the schedule: 10%. There is no higher or lower level.

In 2026, 10% pays $180.42 a month. The larger value of a tinnitus rating is often what it leads to.

The rating

Three notes in the regulation matter:

1. A tinnitus rating can be combined with a separate rating for hearing loss or another ear condition.
2. You get only one 10% rating, whether you hear it in one ear, both ears, or in your head.
3. The rare type that other people can hear, with a definable cause, is rated as part of the underlying condition.

There is no route to a higher schedular rating for tinnitus alone, however severe it is.

Getting service connected

1. A current condition

Tinnitus is subjective. No test can confirm or rule it out. You are competent to report that you have it, and VA must consider your account. What matters is that your description is consistent: when it started, what it sounds like, how often it occurs.

“Recurrent” means it comes back regularly. It does not have to be constant.

2. Noise exposure or another cause in service

VA looks at your military occupation and assigns a probability of hazardous noise exposure: high, moderate, or low. Infantry, artillery, aviation, flight line, engine room, armor, and similar jobs are generally accepted as high. If your job is rated low but you were in fact around noise, explain it: weapons qualification, generators, deployments, aircraft, a blast.

Other causes that count include head injury, traumatic brain injury, and certain medications.

3. The link

• If you noticed tinnitus in service and it has continued since, say so plainly. VA treats tinnitus as a chronic disease in cases of acoustic trauma, so continuous symptoms since service can establish the link. See continuity.
• If it began later, you will need a medical opinion explaining the connection, for example to service-connected hearing loss.

The audiology exam

VA will send you to an audiologist, usually for a combined hearing loss and tinnitus exam. You will be asked when the tinnitus began. Be careful and truthful with this answer. Many claims are denied because the report says “onset a few years ago” when the veteran meant “it got worse a few years ago.”

If it began in service, say: “It started in service and has been there ever since.” If you are not sure of the exact date, say when you first remember noticing it.

Common reasons for denial

• The exam report records an onset date long after service
• A low probability of noise exposure for your job, with no explanation from you
• No complaint in your service records, and a normal hearing test at separation. This does not rule out tinnitus, and a good statement or medical opinion can address it.
• Inconsistent statements about when it started

A buddy statement from someone who remembers you complaining about ringing in service, or a spouse who has heard about it for years, helps close the gap.

What tinnitus can lead to

Because the rating is capped, the question for many veterans is what else is connected to it.

• Hearing loss. Rated separately. See hearing loss ratings.
• Migraines or headaches. See migraine ratings.
• Anxiety, depression, and sleep problems caused by constant noise. See depression and anxiety.

Each of these is a secondary claim and needs a diagnosis and a medical opinion. None is automatic.

Proposed changes

In 2022 VA proposed removing the stand-alone tinnitus rating. Under the proposal, tinnitus would be treated as a symptom of an underlying condition, such as hearing loss, with a separate 10% available only in limited circumstances.

As of this writing, that proposal has not been finalized. Diagnostic Code 6260 and its 10% rating are still in effect. If you have tinnitus from service and have not filed, there is no benefit in waiting. Veterans already rated are generally not reduced just because the schedule changes.

Check the regulation linked below for the current text.

Does a 10% rating matter?

Yes. Beyond the monthly payment, any service-connected rating brings VA health care eligibility for that condition, a 10-point federal hiring preference, access to VA hearing aids where needed, and a foundation for secondary claims. Ten percent can also be the difference at a rounding line. See VA math.

Last reviewed October 2026. This guide is general educational information, not legal or medical advice, and this site is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Rules and rates change. Confirm details on VA.gov or with an accredited representative. See our disclaimer and editorial policy.