Tinnitus is the most-claimed condition in the VA system, and it maxes out at 10%. Not 10% per ear — 10%, total, forever.
Hearing loss is the second most-claimed, and a great many veterans who genuinely can’t hear well are told they have no disability at all. Both outcomes come from rules that are written down and rarely explained.
Tinnitus: One Rating, One Percentage
Diagnostic Code 6260 covers recurrent tinnitus at a flat 10%. There is no 20% or 30% for tinnitus, no matter how severe.
The regulation is explicit on the question veterans ask most: assign only a single evaluation for recurrent tinnitus, whether the sound is perceived in one ear, both ears, or in the head.
Two other rules in that code are worth knowing:
- Tinnitus combines with a hearing loss rating. They’re separate diagnostic codes, and you can hold both — unless the tinnitus is what supports the hearing evaluation.
- Objective tinnitus isn’t rated here. If the sound is audible to other people and has a definable cause, it’s rated as part of that underlying condition instead.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders has a plain-language overview of tinnitus if you want the clinical side.
Where the Real Value Is
If 10% is the ceiling, the leverage is in what tinnitus leads to. Chronic ringing that wrecks sleep and concentration frequently supports a claim for an insomnia or mental health condition secondary to it.
That’s often worth far more than the tinnitus rating itself. Our guides to secondary service connection and how VA rates mental health conditions cover how that works.
The Threshold That Decides Hearing Claims
Before any rating is calculated, VA asks a prior question: does your hearing loss legally count as a disability?
Under the regulation, impaired hearing is a disability only when one of these is true:
- The auditory threshold at any of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or
- Auditory thresholds at at least three of those frequencies are 26 decibels or greater; or
- Speech recognition on the Maryland CNC test is less than 94 percent.
Miss all three and the claim is denied — not because VA disbelieves you, but because the regulation says there’s no disability to rate. This is the single most common reason hearing claims fail, and almost nobody is told it in advance.
The 500 Hz Trap
Here’s a distinction that catches even experienced representatives.
The disability threshold above counts 500 Hz. But the puretone threshold average used to rate hearing loss is the sum of the thresholds at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz, divided by four. The 500 Hz reading is excluded from the rating math entirely.
So a veteran can qualify as having a disability on the strength of a 500 Hz reading and still rate 0%, because that frequency never enters the average.
| Deciding whether it’s a disability | Calculating the rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequencies used | 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hz | 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hz only |
| Speech recognition | Under 94% qualifies on its own | Combined with the average in Table VI |
| Governing rule | 38 CFR 3.385 | 38 CFR 4.85 |
How the Rating Is Actually Calculated
Hearing loss doesn’t use symptom descriptions. It runs on tables.
- An audiologist tests you — the exam must be by a state-licensed audiologist, must include Maryland CNC speech discrimination and puretone audiometry, and is conducted without hearing aids.
- Each ear gets a Roman numeral from Table VI, at the intersection of your speech discrimination percentage and your puretone threshold average.
- Table VII combines the two numerals — better ear against worse ear — to produce the percentage.
Because it’s mechanical, the exam is everything. A distracted or rushed audiometry session doesn’t produce a “close enough” result; it produces a different number.
Two Exceptional Patterns Worth Checking
Section 4.86 creates two situations where the ordinary table is set aside.
- Pattern A: when the puretone threshold is 55 decibels or more at each of 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz, the rater uses Table VI or Table VIa — whichever gives the higher numeral.
- Pattern B: when the threshold is 30 decibels or less at 1000 Hz and 70 decibels or more at 2000 Hz, the rater again takes the higher numeral — and then elevates it one further Roman numeral.
Pattern B describes the classic steeply-sloping noise-induced loss that thousands of veterans have. If your audiogram looks like that, check whether it was applied.
Why Service Connection Is Usually the Easier Half
Noise exposure in service is rarely in dispute. Flight lines, artillery, armor, engine rooms, small arms ranges — the exposure is documented by the job itself.
What helps the claim:
- Your MOS or rating and what it involved, in concrete terms.
- Entrance and separation audiograms, if they exist — a documented shift between them is powerful evidence.
- Lay statements from people who served with you, describing the noise and the lack of protection. Our guide to writing a buddy letter raters credit covers how.
- Family observation of the television volume, missed conversations, and repeated questions.
If your records burned in 1973, that doesn’t end it — our guide to records reconstruction after the fire covers the alternatives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get 10% for tinnitus in each ear?
No. The regulation assigns a single evaluation for recurrent tinnitus whether the sound is in one ear, both ears, or in the head.
What’s the maximum rating for tinnitus?
10%, under Diagnostic Code 6260.
Can I get tinnitus and hearing loss ratings together?
Yes. They’re separate diagnostic codes and can be combined, unless the tinnitus is what supports the hearing evaluation.
Why was my hearing loss rated 0%?
The rating uses a puretone average of 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz with speech discrimination. Losses concentrated at 500 Hz, or mild losses across the range, often produce 0%.
When does hearing loss count as a disability?
When a threshold at any of 500 to 4000 Hz is 40 dB or more, or at least three of those frequencies are 26 dB or more, or Maryland CNC speech recognition is under 94%.
Are hearing aids used during the exam?
No. VA audiometry for rating purposes is conducted without hearing aids.
Get the Audiogram Read Properly
A 0% hearing rating is still service connection, and it still opens the door to hearing aids through VA and to future increases if the loss progresses.
If your audiogram shows one of the exceptional patterns, or if the numbers look wrong against what you experience, that’s exactly what an accredited service officer should review. Our guide to free help from an accredited service officer explains how to reach one, or call Post 51 at (541) 451-1351.
The disability threshold itself is set out in 38 CFR 3.385, and our guide to how VA combines ratings explains what a 10% tinnitus rating does to a combined figure.