Tinnitus, the ringing, buzzing, or hissing in your ears with no external source, is the most commonly claimed VA disability. If you served around gunfire, aircraft, engines, or heavy equipment without perfect hearing protection, you are far from alone. This guide covers how the VA evaluates tinnitus and what a nexus letter needs to do.
How the VA rates tinnitus
Tinnitus is rated under diagnostic code 6260. It carries a single flat rating of 10 percent, regardless of whether it affects one ear or both. In 2026, a 10 percent rating pays $180.42 per month, tax-free.
There is no higher schedular rating for tinnitus alone. What tinnitus often does, though, is open the door to related claims and to a higher combined rating when paired with other conditions.
Why tinnitus claims still get denied
Tinnitus is subjective. For the most common type, only you can hear it. There is no lab test. That makes two things essential:
- A clear, consistent account of when it started and the in-service noise exposure that caused it.
- A medical opinion connecting that exposure to your current symptoms, especially if the ringing was not documented during service.
Many veterans "toughed it out" and never reported the ringing while serving. That gap in the record is often why a claim stalls, and it is exactly where a nexus letter helps.
What a tinnitus nexus letter should include
- Noise-exposure history. The specific in-service sources (flight line, artillery, small-arms range, engine rooms) and the lack of adequate hearing protection.
- Onset and continuity. When the ringing began and that it has continued since.
- A record-review statement. Confirmation the provider reviewed your service and audiology records.
- The nexus opinion. That it is "at least as likely as not" the tinnitus is connected to service.
- Rationale. A plain explanation of how noise exposure damages the auditory system and produces tinnitus.
Tinnitus and hearing loss often travel together
Because both stem from noise exposure, many veterans claim tinnitus and hearing loss together. They are rated separately, and together they can nudge your combined rating higher under VA math (38 CFR 4.25). If you are claiming one, it is worth asking whether the other applies.
A real-world example
A veteran who worked flight-line maintenance filed for tinnitus years after separating. The ringing was never noted in his service records because he never reported it at the time. A provider reviewed his military occupational specialty, documented the noise exposure it involved, and wrote an opinion explaining the connection in plain terms. That opinion gave the claim the medical link it had been missing.