Tinnitus is subjective — a veteran's own lay statement that they have ringing in the ears is competent evidence of the diagnosis. The single rating under 38 CFR § 4.87 Code 6260 is 10%. Grants turn on whether in-service noise exposure is credible, which is nearly always the case for vets with qualifying MOS.
Top 5 recent grants
Ranked by decision date. Each card shows verbatim Findings of Fact and Reasons & Bases pulled directly from the Board's published decision — no summarization, no AI rewording.
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
1. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) granted entitlement to service connection for irritable bowel syndrome, a gastrointestinal condition, in a December 2024 rating decision. There was no indication of clear and unmistakable error. 2. The RO also granted entitlement to service connection for OSA in a December 2024 rating decision. There was no indication of clear and unmistakable error. 3. The evidence is in approximate balance that the Veteran's vertigo was caused or aggravated by her service-connected conditions.
Reasons & Bases (verbatim from decision)
The Veteran served honorably on active duty in the United States Army from February 2006 through February 2010, with additional reserve service. She had over 1 year and 5 months of foreign service, including in Afghanistan, and was awarded the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (w/ Campaign Star), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, among others.
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
1. The Veteran's left eye retinal detachment had its onset during active duty service. 2. The Veteran has credibly shown that he submitted his initial formal claim for service connection for PTSD, posttraumatic headaches, tinnitus, and asthma on March 10, 2015.
Reasons & Bases (verbatim excerpts from decision)
4. An effective date of March 10, 2015, is granted for service connection for tinnitus. […] The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for entitlement to service connection for PTSD, post-traumatic headaches, tinnitus, and asthma. […] A review of the claims file reveals that the Veteran submitted a formal claim seeking service connection for PTSD, headaches, tinnitus, and a respiratory condition that was date-stamped on March 24, 2015, by the VA Claims Intake Center in Newnan, Georgia. Only the first page of that claim form, however, is included in the claims file. […] The Veteran credibly contends, and has consistently contended since at least October 2015, that he filed his initial claim for service connection for PTSD, headaches, tinnitus, and asthma on March 10, 2015, and that through no fault of his own, the paperwork was accidentally destroyed by the USPS while in transit to VA. His representative has submitted what documentation is available to him in support of this argument, which corroborates the Veteran's competent report and that the Board finds credible. In light of the foregoing, because the evidence supports the Veteran's claims, the Board finds that an effective date of March 10, 2015, is warranted for the awards of service connection for PTSD, post-traumatic headaches, tinnitus, and asthma.
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
The evidence of record demonstrates that the Veteran's hypertension was incurred in or otherwise the result of military service.
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
1. Resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the pre-existing low back disability was aggravated by active-duty service. 2. The Veteran's right ankle, bilateral hip, and left knee disabilities had their onset in service. 3. The Veteran's migraines are secondary to his service-connected tinnitus.
Reasons & Bases (verbatim excerpts from decision)
During the April 2014 hearing loss/tinnitus examination, the examiner noted that with increased intensity, the Veteran's tinnitus could trigger a migraine headache. […] The Board finds that the persuasive weight of the evidence is against a finding of direct service connection, as it is against a finding that the Veteran's headaches/migraines had their onset in service. However, the Board finds after resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, service connection for migraine is warranted on a secondary basis. The April 2014 VA examiner noted that the Veteran's tinnitus could trigger a migraine headache. Thus, the Board finds that the evidence supports a finding that the Veteran's migraines are secondary to his service-connected tinnitus. Service connection for migraine/headaches is warranted.
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, tinnitus began during active service.
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How to use these decisions in your claim
- ›Charles v. Principi: tinnitus is a condition where lay testimony of symptoms is sufficient — you do not need a doctor to "prove" you hear ringing.
- ›Duty MOS Noise Exposure Listing is often decisive. Find your MOS/rate and cite it.
- ›Tinnitus secondary to service-connected hearing loss is routinely granted — the nexus is medically obvious.
- ›BVA decisions are non-precedential under 38 CFR § 20.1303 but the Board and rating officials regularly find recent analogous decisions persuasive — especially when your facts materially match.
- ›Paste the suggested-citation line into VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim), then attach the full decision PDF as an exhibit.
More BVA grant guides
BVA decisions are public-record Department of Veterans Affairs rulings. Under 38 CFR § 20.1303 they are non-precedential but may be cited as persuasive evidence of how the Board has treated similar facts. NexusVetClaims provides software, not legal representation. This page shows retrieval output from the nexusvetclaims.com BVA corpus and is updated as new decisions are indexed.