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VA Rating for Tinnitus: The 10% Rule and What Comes After

The VA rates recurrent tinnitus at 10% under diagnostic code 6260, and 10% is the maximum. You get one rating whether the ringing is in one ear, both ears or your head (38 CFR 4.87). Hearing loss is rated separately under DC 6100. The bigger value often comes from conditions tinnitus causes or worsens, like sleep problems, anxiety or migraines. Here is how it all works, and what the VA has proposed to change.

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TL;DR

Recurrent tinnitus is rated 10% under DC 6260. That is the only rating level for this code (38 CFR 4.87).
Note (2) to DC 6260: only a single rating is assigned, whether the sound is in one ear, both ears or in the head. The Federal Circuit upheld this in Smith v. Nicholson (2006).
Hearing loss is rated separately under DC 6100 and can be combined with tinnitus (38 CFR 4.87, Note (1)).
Conditions caused or worsened by tinnitus, such as anxiety or migraines, can be claimed as secondary under 38 CFR 3.310 with medical evidence.
The VA proposed in 2022 to eliminate DC 6260. As of September 2026 that is not final, and existing ratings are protected by 38 CFR 3.951(a).

What is the VA rating for tinnitus?

Tinnitus is ringing, buzzing, hissing or roaring you hear when there is no outside sound. The VA rates recurrent tinnitus under diagnostic code 6260 in 38 CFR 4.87. There is one rating level: 10%.

In 2026, a 10% combined rating pays $180.42 a month, per the VA's rates effective December 1, 2025. At 10% and 20% there is no added pay for dependents. See the 2026 pay chart and what a 10% rating gets you.

Can I get 10% for each ear?

No. Note (2) to DC 6260 says the VA assigns "only a single evaluation for recurrent tinnitus, whether the sound is perceived in one ear, both ears, or in the head." The VA added that note in 2003. Veterans challenged it, and in Smith v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2006), the Federal Circuit upheld the single rating.

Note (3) adds one more limit. Objective tinnitus, a sound other people can hear with a definable cause, is not rated under DC 6260. It is rated as part of the condition causing it.

Is hearing loss rated separately from tinnitus?

Yes. Note (1) to DC 6260 lets the VA combine a separate tinnitus rating with a rating for hearing loss (DC 6100), peripheral vestibular disorders (DC 6204), or another code. The one exception is when tinnitus is itself what supports the rating under that other code, such as Meniere's syndrome (DC 6205).

Hearing loss has its own threshold. For VA purposes, impaired hearing counts as a disability only when one of these is true (38 CFR 3.385):

The auditory threshold at any of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000 Hz is 40 decibels or greater, or
The thresholds at three or more of those frequencies are 26 decibels or greater, or
Your speech recognition score on the Maryland CNC test is below 94%.

Hearing loss is then rated by a formula using the puretone average and speech scores (38 CFR 4.85). Many veterans get service connection for hearing loss at 0%. That still matters, because the rating can go up if your hearing gets worse, and it can support secondary claims.

How do you prove tinnitus is service connected?

Tinnitus is one of the few conditions where your own account carries real weight. You are competent to say you hear ringing, because it is something you experience directly. The VA still needs to connect it to service.

In-service noise exposure. Weapons fire, explosions, aircraft, vehicles, generators, flight lines, engine rooms.
When it started. Tell the VA when you first noticed it, and whether it has continued since. The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims held in Fountain v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 258 (2015), that tinnitus, at least where there is evidence of acoustic trauma, is an organic disease of the nervous system, a chronic disease under 38 CFR 3.309(a). That allows continuity of symptoms since service to help prove the link.
Buddy statements. People who served with you can confirm the noise you worked around. VA Form 21-10210 is the Lay/Witness Statement.

Does my MOS prove noise exposure?

It can help a lot. The VA keeps a Duty MOS Noise Exposure Listing that rates each military job's probability of hazardous noise exposure as highly probable, moderate or low. If your job is listed as highly probable, the VA generally concedes you were exposed to hazardous noise in service. Infantry, artillery, armor, combat engineer and many aviation and maintenance jobs fall into that group.

A moderate or low listing does not end your claim. It means you need to show the actual noise you were exposed to, through your statement, buddy statements, deployment records or awards that show combat. For combat veterans, 38 U.S.C. 1154(b) lets your own account of combat events establish what happened when it is consistent with the circumstances of your service.

What conditions can be secondary to tinnitus?

Since 10% is the ceiling for tinnitus itself, the next question is what tinnitus has done to the rest of your life. Under 38 CFR 3.310, a condition caused or aggravated by service-connected tinnitus can be service connected. Claims that are often argued include:

Anxiety or depression. Constant noise can wear on mood and sleep. If granted, it is rated under the mental health formula in 38 CFR 4.130, the same scale used for PTSD.
Migraines or headaches. Some veterans report that tinnitus flares trigger or worsen headaches. Migraines are rated under DC 8100. See our VA rating for migraines guide.
Sleep disturbance. Usually folded into a mental health rating, not rated alone, because chronic sleep impairment is already part of that formula.

None of these are automatic. Each needs a diagnosis and a medical opinion that explains how tinnitus caused or aggravated the condition. The opinion should address both causation and aggravation. The Secondary Conditions Map ($37) shows common secondary links for tinnitus and hearing loss and the records to gather first.

Get the Secondary Conditions Map ($37)

Is the VA changing how tinnitus is rated?

It has proposed to. In a proposed rule published February 15, 2022, the VA said it would delete DC 6260 and rate tinnitus only as part of an underlying condition, such as hearing loss (DC 6100), a vestibular disorder, Meniere's syndrome or a traumatic brain injury.

As of September 2026, that change is not final. The Federal Register shows no final rule, and the current eCFR still contains DC 6260 with its 10% rating. The VA itself stated in the proposal that the change would not affect veterans already service connected for tinnitus under DC 6260, whose ratings are protected by 38 CFR 3.951(a). If you have tinnitus related to service, the current rules are the ones that apply to your claim today.

What happens at a tinnitus and hearing loss exam?

The VA uses a Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Disability Benefits Questionnaire, which the VA publishes. A state-licensed audiologist tests your hearing with a puretone audiometry test and the Maryland CNC speech test. The examiner asks when your tinnitus started and what noise you were exposed to in and after service.

Be ready to explain your in-service noise in detail and when you first noticed the ringing. Be accurate about noise exposure after service too. Our C&P exam tips cover general exam preparation.

We are an Army Ranger and a combat engineer from a family of veterans, and we have heard the ringing too. We are not the VA, we are not VA-accredited, and we do not file claims for you. We explain the rules as written. No one can promise a rating.

Frequently asked questions

Is 10% the highest VA rating for tinnitus?

Yes. DC 6260 has one rating level, 10%, under 38 CFR 4.87. Higher combined ratings come from hearing loss or from secondary conditions rated under their own codes.

Can I get tinnitus rated in both ears?

No. Note (2) to DC 6260 allows a single rating whether the sound is in one ear, both ears or the head. The Federal Circuit upheld that rule in Smith v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1344 (2006).

Do I need a hearing test to get tinnitus service connected?

Tinnitus is mainly shown by your own report, since no test measures it directly. The VA will usually order an audiology exam anyway to evaluate hearing loss and get an opinion on whether tinnitus relates to service.

Will I lose my tinnitus rating if the VA deletes DC 6260?

The change is only proposed. The VA stated it would not affect veterans already service connected under DC 6260, and 38 CFR 3.951(a) bars reductions based only on a schedule change unless the condition improved.

Is tinnitus a PACT Act presumptive condition?

No. Tinnitus is service connected through in-service noise exposure or as secondary to another condition. See our PACT Act presumptive conditions page for what is on that list.