Tinnitus Claimed Secondary to Hearing Loss

Educational reference, not legal advice or claims assistance. This page reports aggregate outcomes for a documented claim pairing. It does not tell you whether to file and it does not predict your result. For help with a specific claim, work with a free VA-accredited representative.

Tinnitus (VA diagnostic code 6260) is sometimes claimed as secondary to service-connected Hearing Loss (code 6100) under 38 CFR 3.310. This page reports what published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions on that pairing show. It is an encyclopedic reference, not a forecast.

What published Board decisions show

Across 1,463 published Board (BVA) decisions in our index where tinnitus was claimed as secondary to hearing loss, the outcomes broke down as follows. These are historical aggregates of decided appeals, not a prediction for any individual claim.

59%
Granted
26%
Denied
13%
Remanded
Granted 866Denied 374Remanded 195 (sent back for more development)

Counting only appeals that were granted or denied (setting aside remands), about 70% were granted. A remand is not a loss; it means the Board needed more evidence before deciding.

Source: aggregate of published BVA decisions indexed by RateMyVSO. Secondary service connection rule: 38 CFR § 3.310. Figures describe decided appeals and can change as new decisions are indexed.

Why tinnitus is claimed secondary to hearing loss

Documented mechanism (plausible)
Hearing loss and tinnitus often share pathophysiology.
This rationale is generated from the data for this specific pairing, not hand-written per page. The grant and denial figures above come only from the decision data, never from the rationale text.

Whether that medical link exists in any one case is a medical question decided on that case's own evidence (the nexus).

What a secondary claim on this pairing needs

Under 38 CFR 3.310 a secondary claim turns on three elements:

  • A current diagnosis: a medical diagnosis of tinnitus (the secondary).
  • A service-connected primary: Hearing Loss, already service-connected (the primary). A 0% primary still counts.
  • A medical nexus: a medical opinion linking the tinnitus to the hearing loss, showing the primary caused or aggravated it.

See the Secondary Claim guide for the caused-versus-aggravated split, and the Nexus Letter guide for what makes the medical opinion strong.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Hearing Loss have to be highly rated to support a tinnitus secondary claim?

No. 38 CFR 3.310 looks at whether the service-connected Hearing Loss caused or aggravated the tinnitus, not at how severe the Hearing Loss rating is. Even a 0% service-connected primary can anchor a secondary claim.

What do the percentages on this page mean?

They are the historical outcomes of 1,463 published Board decisions on this exact pairing: 59% granted, 26% denied, 13% remanded. They describe decided appeals already on record. They do not predict what would happen in any individual case.

RateMyVSO. Educational resource. Not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Not legal advice. All RateMyVSO tools are free. Find a VSO representative for personalized guidance.