How to file a VA tinnitus and hearing loss claim — noise exposure evidence, the audiology exam, and how each is rated
Tinnitus and hearing loss are claimed together on VA Form 21-526EZ. Service connection needs a current diagnosis, evidence of noise exposure or an ear injury in service, and a link between them; your military job and duty stations, service treatment records and audiograms, and statements from people who served with you are the usual evidence. VA rates recurrent tinnitus at 10% under 38 CFR 4.87, diagnostic code 6260 — a single rating regardless of whether it is heard in one ear, both ears or the head. Hearing loss is rated under 38 CFR 4.85 from an exam by a state-licensed audiologist using the Maryland CNC speech discrimination test and puretone thresholds, without hearing aids; the two ears are combined in VA's tables to a percentage from 0% to 100%. A 0% rating is still service connection.
What you'll need
- VA Form 21-526EZ
- Your DD-214 showing your military occupation, and records of duty stations, deployments or incidents with loud noise or ear injury
- Service treatment records, including entrance and separation hearing tests, if you have them
- Any audiograms or ENT records since service
- Lay statements (VA Form 21-10210) from you and from people who served with you about the noise and when the ringing or hearing trouble began
- A free accredited representative (CVSO or VSO)
Step-by-step
Step 1: Document the noise exposure or injury
VA looks for an in-service event: noise from weapons, aircraft, vehicles, engines or explosions, or an ear injury or infection. Your military occupation and units on the DD-214, duty stations and deployments, and service treatment records (including any hearing tests at entrance and separation) are the primary evidence. VA uses a Duty MOS Noise Exposure Listing as a guide to how likely noise exposure was for a given job; it is a guide, not a legal presumption. For a veteran who engaged in combat, 38 CFR 3.304(d) lets your own statement establish that an in-service event occurred if it is consistent with your service.
Step 2: Tinnitus — your statement is the main evidence
Tinnitus is diagnosed from your report. Describe when the ringing, buzzing or hissing started, how often it occurs and how it affects sleep or concentration, in a statement with the claim (VA Form 21-10210 or the claim form itself), and ask people who knew you then to describe what you told them. VA's audiologist will ask about it at the exam. Under DC 6260 recurrent tinnitus is rated 10%, with only one rating whether the sound is in one ear, both ears or the head; tinnitus that others can hear (objective tinnitus) is rated as part of its underlying cause.
Step 3: Hearing loss — the VA audiology exam
VA rates hearing loss from an exam that must be done by a state-licensed audiologist and must include a Maryland CNC controlled speech discrimination test and puretone audiometry, without hearing aids. VA schedules this exam after you file; a private audiogram helps show the history but the VA exam controls the rating. The puretone threshold average is the average at 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz. Table VI converts speech discrimination and the average to a Roman numeral for each ear (Table VIa uses the average alone when speech testing is not appropriate, and 38 CFR 4.86 applies the higher result for exceptional patterns such as 55 dB or more at all four frequencies); Table VII combines the two ears into the percentage. Hearing loss must meet VA's definition of a disability (38 CFR 3.385) to be service-connected at all.
Step 4: File both conditions
List both "tinnitus" and "bilateral hearing loss" (or the affected ear) on VA Form 21-526EZ, filed online, by mail to the Claims Intake Center (PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444), in person or through a free accredited representative. Attach the records and statements from Steps 1–2. At the exam, tell the audiologist about in-service noise, any post-service noise exposure and when symptoms began — VA weighs both.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/disability/file-disability-claim-form-21-526ez/
Step 5: After the decision
A 0% hearing loss rating is still service connection: it establishes the condition for future increases if hearing worsens and supports eligibility for VA audiology care and hearing aids for enrolled veterans. If VA denies service connection, the decision-review options apply within one year — a Supplemental Claim with a private audiologist's or physician's opinion linking the loss to in-service noise is the usual route. Conditions that medical evidence links to service-connected tinnitus or hearing loss can be claimed as secondary under 38 CFR 3.310.
Critical tips
- Retail or online hearing screenings are not accepted for rating purposes; the VA exam has to be done by a state-licensed audiologist with the Maryland CNC test.
- A normal hearing test at separation does not end the claim — tinnitus is rated on your report, and VA considers delayed-onset evidence with a medical opinion.
- Veterans enrolled in VA health care can get hearing aids and batteries through VA audiology; service-connected hearing loss at any percentage is one of the eligibility categories.
- A county veterans service officer can file the claim for free: warriorsfund.org/find-cvso.
- In crisis: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255.