VA rating guide · Hearing
Tinnitus VA Rating: 10% and What It’s Worth
Tinnitus is the most common service-connected disability, and one of the most straightforward to claim. It’s always rated 10%, but it can still raise your combined rating and open the door to secondary conditions.
- Exact VA criteria
- One ear or both
- Noise exposure proof
- Secondary conditions
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Tinnitus Rating Criteria
Recurrent tinnitus has a single rating level.
How to Service-Connect Tinnitus
Because tinnitus is something only you can hear, your own description of the ringing, buzzing or hissing counts as evidence. What the VA needs is a link to service, which usually comes from noise exposure:
- Your job in service. The VA keeps a list rating each military job’s probability of hazardous noise exposure. If yours is “high” or “moderate,” noise exposure is generally conceded.
- Specific exposures: weapons fire, artillery, aircraft and flight lines (common for Ellsworth AFB and Air National Guard veterans), engine rooms, generators, and heavy equipment.
- When it started. Be clear and consistent about when you first noticed it, even if you never reported it while in service.
Tinnitus can also be connected secondary to other conditions, such as a head injury or certain medications.
How 10% for Tinnitus Changes Your Combined Rating
The VA combines ratings using a “whole person” method, so 10% doesn’t always add 10 points. For example, a veteran rated 50% who adds tinnitus combines to 55%, which the VA rounds up to 60%. That’s $302.12 more per month for a veteran with no dependents in 2026.
Try your own numbers in the VA disability calculator.
Tinnitus and hearing loss are rated separately
Hearing loss is rated on its own using audiometric testing, and many veterans receive 0% for it. That rating can still matter: it establishes service connection, which helps if your hearing gets worse.
Conditions That Can Be Secondary to Tinnitus
Constant ringing can affect much more than your ears. With a supporting medical opinion, veterans have service-connected conditions such as anxiety and depression, sleep disturbances, and migraines secondary to tinnitus. Mental health conditions would be rated under the same formula as PTSD.
Tinnitus VA Rating: Common Questions
Can I get 10% for each ear?
No. The VA assigns a single 10% rating for recurrent tinnitus whether you hear it in one ear, both ears, or in your head.
Do I need a hearing test to claim tinnitus?
The VA will usually schedule an audiology exam, but tinnitus itself is diagnosed largely from your description. Hearing loss, on the other hand, must be measured with specific audiometric tests.
I never reported tinnitus in service. Can I still claim it?
Yes. Many veterans never mentioned it while serving. Your statements about when it started, combined with evidence of noise exposure from your job or duties, can support the claim.
Is the VA getting rid of tinnitus ratings?
The VA has proposed rating tinnitus as part of an underlying hearing condition rather than separately. As of October 2026 that change has not taken effect, and tinnitus is still rated 10% on its own.
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