Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Visual Guide Library

23 printable one-page charts that catalogue how VA hearing loss and tinnitus claims work: when measured hearing meets the disability threshold in 38 CFR 3.385, the two tests VA requires, how the puretone average is calculated, how Table VI and Table VII turn test results into a percentage, the exceptional patterns under 38 CFR 4.86, why a service-connected ear can still rate 0 percent, the single 10 percent rating for tinnitus under DC 6260, and research on the evidence themes that appear in published Board decisions.

23 visual guides. 7 research charts refresh from RateMyVSO's analysis of 1,897,000+ published BVA decisions; each chart prints its own sample size. The other 16 state the rating rules and the testing process, and change only when the regulations do.

How to use this library

Every guide is a single tall image sized for printing or saving to your phone. Select any card to open the full-resolution image, or use the download link under it. The rule and testing charts summarize the published criteria; the research charts report how often certain evidence themes appeared in published Board decisions, with the population and data date printed on the chart itself.

These charts catalogue published rules and what appears in published Board decisions. Hearing loss and tinnitus are kept separate throughout, with their own denominators, and are never combined into a single success rate. The research figures count how often an evidence theme was detected in decision text; they are not prevalence, not a required checklist, and not a prediction about any individual claim. These charts are not legal or medical advice. For the full written guidance behind them, start with the hearing loss and tinnitus guide.

Common Questions

Can I download, print, and share these guides?
Yes. Every guide has a free full-resolution PNG download, sized for printing on letter paper or reading on a phone. Share them freely; please keep the footer attribution intact so readers can find the underlying data.
How current are the research numbers?
The research charts are regenerated every week from the same data files that power this site's live hearing and tinnitus statistics. Each chart prints the generation date of its own data sources in the footer, so you always know exactly when its numbers were produced.
Do these charts predict my claim?
No. They report what happened in published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions, which are appeals, not initial claims, and are described with their exact sample on each chart. An observed grant share is a description of past decided cases, never a probability for any individual claim.

Related Tools and Guides

Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Guide
The written guidance behind these charts, from service connection through the rating tables.
DC 6100 Hearing Loss
The diagnostic code page, with live Board outcome data for hearing loss.
DC 6260 Tinnitus
The diagnostic code page, with live Board outcome data for tinnitus.
BVA Decision Search
Search the published Board decisions these research charts are built from.
Educational use only. These visual guides catalogue published VA rules and observed outcomes in published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions. They are not legal or medical advice, do not predict any individual claim, and are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sample sizes and data dates are printed on each chart.