Tinnitus is consistently the most common service-connected disability in VA's system — and one of the most misunderstood. Here's how the tinnitus VA rating actually works under Diagnostic Code 6260, why both ears don't get you double, and where the proposed rule change stands.
Let's get the hard part out of the way first: the tinnitus VA rating tops out at 10 percent. Not 10 percent per ear — 10 percent, period. That single number frustrates more veterans than almost any other line on a rating decision, because the ringing is constant, it wrecks sleep, and it doesn't feel like a "ten percent" problem. But understanding exactly what the code does and doesn't do is what lets you build the rest of your file correctly instead of fighting a rule that isn't going to move.
Tinnitus is rated under Diagnostic Code 6260 in the ear section of VA's rating schedule. The criteria are about as short as the schedule gets:
| Rating | Criteria (Diagnostic Code 6260) |
|---|---|
| 10% | Recurrent tinnitus. This is the maximum schedular evaluation under this code. |
| 0% | No compensable evaluation is assigned where recurrent tinnitus is not established. |
Three notes under the code do most of the work. First, a single evaluation is assigned for recurrent tinnitus whether you perceive the sound in one ear, both ears, or in your head. Second, tinnitus is evaluated separately from hearing loss, which is rated under its own code. Third, objective tinnitus — the rare kind an examiner can actually hear, with a definable physical cause — is not rated here at all; it's evaluated as part of the underlying condition causing it.
This is the question we get more than any other. Veterans reason, sensibly, that if both ears ring, that's two disabilities. VA's answer is that recurrent tinnitus is a single condition perceived in the auditory system, not a paired extremity like a knee or a shoulder, so it gets one evaluation. Veterans challenged that reading, and the Federal Circuit upheld VA's interpretation in Smith v. Nicholson back in 2006. It has been settled ever since. Filing "bilateral tinnitus" as two claims doesn't change the math — and it isn't worth the energy.
The same goes for the bilateral factor, the small bump VA applies when you have disabilities of both arms or both legs. Tinnitus doesn't qualify for it. If you want to see how a 10% actually combines with what you already have — because it won't simply add — run it through our VA disability calculator and read our breakdown of VA combined-ratings math before you assume what a new 10% is worth.
Tinnitus is unusual: it's a subjective symptom. There's no scan and no meter that proves ringing. That cuts both ways. It means you can't hand VA an objective test result — but it also means your own credible, consistent description of the condition is real evidence, because tinnitus is something a layperson is competent to observe and report. What examiners and raters are generally looking for is a coherent picture across four pieces:
One thing to be precise about: describe your tinnitus accurately, not maximally. Our standard is the same on every condition — accuracy and completeness, never exaggeration. An examiner who catches an inconsistency isn't just skeptical about that answer; they're skeptical about your whole account.
If 10% is the ceiling, the useful question isn't "how do I get more for tinnitus" — it's "what else is documented in my file that I haven't claimed." The same noise exposure and the same events that produced the ringing very often produced other conditions, each rated on its own code. Veterans commonly claim, alongside tinnitus:
None of these are automatic, and none of them are checkboxes. A secondary claim generally needs three things: a current diagnosis, an already service-connected primary condition, and a medical nexus opinion connecting them. A rater cannot infer that link for you — a clinician has to state it and explain the reasoning. That's the piece most veterans underbuild, and it's a large part of what we teach in the VA Disability Mastery course.
You've probably seen the headlines: VA has proposed eliminating the standalone tinnitus code and treating tinnitus as a symptom of an underlying condition rather than a separately compensable disability. That proposal is real. It is also, as of mid-2026, still just a proposal — no final rule has been published, and claims today are being decided under Diagnostic Code 6260 as described above.
Two things worth knowing. Existing ratings don't simply vanish when a schedule changes; VA has separate protection and due-process rules that govern reductions, including long-standing protections for ratings that have been continuously in effect for many years. And the rating schedule that applies to your claim is the one in force when it's decided — so if you already live with documented tinnitus, there is no advantage in sitting on the claim while the rules are in motion. If you're not ready to file the full claim, an Intent to File takes five minutes and holds your effective date for up to a year while you build the file.
Rules change. Verify the current status on VA's official channels, or with an accredited VSO, claims agent, or attorney, before you make a decision that depends on it.
Can I get 20% for tinnitus in both ears?
No. Diagnostic Code 6260 assigns a single evaluation whether the sound is in one ear, both ears, or in your head. Ten percent is the maximum, and the Federal Circuit upheld that reading in Smith v. Nicholson (2006).
Do I need a hearing test to prove tinnitus?
Tinnitus is subjective — no test measures the ringing itself. VA generally relies on your credible description, evidence of in-service noise exposure, and the audiology examiner's opinion. An audiogram documents hearing loss, which is rated separately, and can corroborate the noise exposure behind both.
Is the 10% tinnitus rating going away?
VA proposed removing the standalone code. As of mid-2026 it isn't final, and claims are still decided under the current code. Only VA can decide any rating, reduction, or effective date.
Our VA Disability Mastery course walks through evidence, secondary theories, nexus letters, and exam prep the way we'd build our own file. Or start free — find the gaps in 60 seconds with the readiness quiz or the preparation checklist.
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