Tinnitus (DC 6260): What VA Raters Look For

Tinnitus is one of the most common disabilities the VA rates, and for good reason — millions of veterans were exposed to loud noise during service. If you have a constant ringing, buzzing, hissing, or clicking in your ears that nobody else can hear, you may be dealing with tinnitus. The good news is that the rules for rating it are straightforward. The catch is that getting service-connected still takes the right evidence, and a surprising number of claims get denied over avoidable mistakes. Here's what VA raters actually look for when they evaluate a tinnitus disability claim.

What tinnitus is and how the VA defines it

Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no outside sound is present. Most veterans describe it as ringing in the ears, but it can also sound like buzzing, roaring, clicking, or hissing. It can affect one ear or both, and it can come and go or be constant.

The VA treats tinnitus as a subjective condition. That means there's no machine that can measure it directly — the VA relies on what you report. Because you are the only person who can hear it, your own credible statement about your symptoms carries real weight in your claim.

Tinnitus is closely linked to hearing loss and noise exposure, but it is rated as its own separate condition. You can have tinnitus with or without measurable hearing loss. The VA recognizes both subjective tinnitus (the kind only you can hear, which is by far the most common) and the very rare objective tinnitus (which a clinician can actually detect).

The DC 6260 rating: why it caps at 10%

Tinnitus is rated under Diagnostic Code 6260 in the VA's hearing schedule, found at 38 CFR 4.87. The single most important thing to understand about the DC 6260 rating is this:

Tinnitus is assigned a single 10% evaluation, whether the sound is perceived in one ear, both ears, or in the head.

That 10% is the maximum. There is no 20%, 30%, or higher rating for tinnitus on its own under this code. It does not matter how loud the ringing is, how often it occurs, or whether it affects one ear or both — the schedule caps recurrent tinnitus at 10%.

This cap was tested and upheld in the courts. In Smith v. Nicholson, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims initially questioned the single rating, but the Federal Circuit reversed that in 2006 and confirmed the VA's reading: a veteran cannot get two separate 10% ratings for tinnitus in each ear. One rating, 10%, period.

A note from the rating schedule also makes clear that you do not evaluate tinnitus that is a symptom of another disease (like Meniere's disease) separately — in those cases it gets folded into the rating for the underlying condition.

Even though 10% sounds small, it can matter. It can push you over a threshold that affects your combined rating. Remember that VA disability is not simple addition — use a VA Disability Calculator to see how a 10% tinnitus rating actually changes your combined percentage.

Establishing service connection for tinnitus

A rating only matters if you're service-connected first. To establish direct service connection for tinnitus, you generally need to show three things:

1. 1.A current diagnosis of tinnitus (your reported symptoms can satisfy this, since it's subjective).
2. 2.An in-service event, injury, or exposure — most often loud noise (a "nexus event").
3. 3.A link (nexus) connecting your current tinnitus to that in-service exposure.

For the in-service exposure, the VA looks at your Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) and your service records. The VA uses a Duty MOS Noise Exposure Listing that rates the probability of hazardous noise exposure as high, moderate, or low for different jobs. If you were infantry, artillery, an aircraft mechanic, or in another high-noise role, that exposure is generally conceded based on the nature of your duties.

Lay evidence is powerful here. Because you can credibly report ringing that started during or after a loud noise event, your own statement — backed by buddy statements from people who served with you — can carry the claim. The VA is required to consider competent lay evidence under 38 CFR 3.159.

Before you file, it's worth checking that your evidence actually covers all three elements. Our Evidence Gap Analyzer can help you spot what's missing — for example, a lack of any in-service noise documentation or no statement describing when the ringing began.

Tinnitus as a secondary condition

Tinnitus doesn't always start with loud noise. It can also be secondary to another service-connected condition. Secondary service connection is governed by 38 CFR 3.310, which allows a condition that is caused or aggravated by an already service-connected disability to be service-connected itself.

Common secondary pathways for tinnitus include:

• •Hearing loss — if your service-connected hearing loss caused or worsened your tinnitus.
• •Traumatic brain injury (TBI) — tinnitus is a frequently documented residual of head trauma.
• •Medication side effects — some drugs taken for a service-connected condition are ototoxic (damaging to hearing) and can trigger tinnitus.
• •Meniere's disease or other ear conditions.

The rating cap still applies — even a secondary tinnitus tops out at 10% — but establishing it secondarily can be the right route when there's no clear in-service noise event. If you think one of these links applies to you, our Secondary Conditions tool walks through common connections, and a VA-accredited VSO can help you build the medical opinion you'll need.

What the C&P exam asks

Most tinnitus claims include a Compensation & Pension (C&P) exam, usually combined with a hearing loss exam. An audiologist or qualified clinician completes the tinnitus Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ).

Expect questions like:

• •Do you have recurrent tinnitus? In one ear, both, or your head?
• •When did it start, and what were you doing when it began?
• •What does it sound like, and how often does it occur?
• •How does it affect your daily life, work, sleep, and concentration?

The examiner will then give a medical nexus opinion — whether your tinnitus is "at least as likely as not" (a 50% or greater probability) related to service. That "at least as likely as not" standard is the benefit-of-the-doubt rule from 38 CFR 3.102, and it's the bar the evidence is weighed against.

Be specific and consistent. Vague answers like "I guess it's been a while" can hurt you. Describe when the ringing started relative to your service, and tie it to a noise event if you can. Practicing your answers beforehand helps — try the C&P Exam Simulator to rehearse, or build a tailored guide with C&P Exam Prep so you walk in ready.

Common reasons tinnitus claims are denied

Tinnitus is common, but denials still happen. Here are the patterns raters and the case law repeatedly turn on:

• •No current symptoms reported. If you tell the examiner you don't currently have tinnitus, there's nothing to service-connect. Be honest, but don't downplay symptoms you actually have.
• •A negative nexus opinion. The examiner concludes your tinnitus is "less likely than not" related to service — often because the records show it started years later with no documented in-service complaint.
• •Inconsistent onset dates. Telling the VA one thing on your application and the examiner something different undercuts your credibility.
• •No conceded noise exposure. If your MOS was low-noise and you offer no lay statements or other evidence of a noise event, the in-service element falls apart.
• •Attributing it to a non-service cause. If the evidence points to aging, civilian work, or a post-service event as the main cause, that weighs against the claim.

If you've already been denied, read the decision carefully — the rating decision will state exactly which element failed. You can paste your letter into Commander Decode for a plain-English breakdown of what the rater found and what evidence might close the gap.

Because tinnitus often travels with hearing loss, TBI, and other conditions, it's smart to look at the whole picture rather than one code in isolation. A VA-accredited VSO can review your file, help you gather the right lay and medical evidence, and make sure nothing connected to your tinnitus goes unclaimed.