Under diagnostic code 6260, tinnitus is rated at a flat 10% — one rating whether it's in one ear or both. That sounds like small money, and on its own it is. But a service-connected tinnitus rating does two things most veterans overlook:
An easy-to-prove, service-connected condition establishes your claim file and opens the door to secondaries and combined ratings.
Tinnitus is medically associated with sleep disturbance, migraines, anxiety, and depression — each separately ratable as a secondary condition.
Your MOS does the heavy lifting: infantry, artillery, aviation, engineering — the VA's own duty-MOS noise exposure listing assigns each MOS a probability. Cite it.
Tinnitus is subjective — there's no test that proves it. Consistency is your evidence: the same onset story in your statement, your medical records, and your C&P exam.
If the ringing wrecks your sleep or drives anxiety, those are separate claims secondary to tinnitus — each with its own rating. This is where a 10% file becomes a 50% file.
Filing tinnitus alone and stopping there is the most common half-finished claim in the system. If it's affecting your sleep or your head, say so — in writing, from day one. See how to file for the full sequence.
