Recurring ringing, buzzing, hissing, clicking, or other sounds heard without an outside source.
Because there is only one rating level at 10%, the key question for evidence is whether your tinnitus is recurrent and service-connected, not how severe it is. Medical records documenting that you experience recurring tinnitus — whether one-sided, both-sided, or perceived in your head — support the diagnosis. A VA or private audiology exam that confirms the presence of subjective tinnitus (sound heard only by you) and rules out an identifiable external cause is particularly useful, since objective tinnitus is rated differently.
Service records, noise exposure logs, or buddy statements can help establish a connection between your military service and the onset of the ringing. If your tinnitus was noted during service or shortly after separation, those records strengthen the link. Statements from you or people who know you describing when the tinnitus began and how it recurs can also help confirm the recurrent nature of the condition that the diagnostic code requires.
Conditions that are often caused or made worse by this one. If you have any of these, they may be claimable as secondary service connection.
