One evaluation, 10 percent, and that is the schedule

Under §4.87, DC 6260, recurrent tinnitus is rated 10%.

Its note is explicit: assign only a single evaluation for recurrent tinnitus, whether the sound is perceived in one ear, both ears, or in the head. Bilateral tinnitus does not produce two evaluations. This is the most common misunderstanding about this code, and it is settled by the regulation's own text rather than by argument.

What the code does and does not reach

DC 6260 is for recurrent tinnitus — the subjective kind, which only you can perceive.

The note directs that objective tinnitus — the kind a clinician can detect — is not rated here. It is evaluated as part of whatever underlying condition is producing it.

Tinnitus may be combined with other codes, including hearing impairment and vestibular disorders, except where the tinnitus is itself supporting the evaluation under one of those codes.

What this means practically

Because the ceiling is 10%, effort on this code is better spent on service connection than on severity. There is no higher level to argue toward, and documenting how debilitating it is will not move a schedule that has one compensable step.

What matters is the record connecting it to service: noise exposure, your military occupational specialty, contemporaneous complaints, and audiology findings over time.

VA lists Hearing Loss and Tinnitus among questionnaires it does not release publicly, so there is no public DBQ to bring to an appointment for this one. An audiologist can still provide clinical records through normal channels, and VA may order its own examination.

Reviewed October 6, 2026