Board decisions
What the Board granted and denied for tinnitus
In the Board decisions we have indexed since 2019, veterans raised 27,379 issues about tinnitus. Of the ones it decided, the Board granted 60 percent. It sent 27 percent of all these issues back for more work.
Every decision counted here is an appeal. The regional office decided the claim first, the veteran disagreed, and the Board is the next step after that. These are not the odds on a first claim.
Since 2019
1,419 were reopened for a fresh look, which is not a grant and is not counted as one. 1,776 were dismissed or withdrawn. 187 ended some other way, or we could not read the outcome.
Across every year we have indexed, that is 94,785 issues across 88,003 decisions, 47 percent granted of the ones decided, and 29 percent sent back for more work.
What a remand is
A remand is not a yes or a no. The Board sends the claim back to the regional office for more work, such as a new exam or a record that was not in the file. The claim is decided again later, and that later decision is a separate document.
What showed up in the decisions
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| What the decision mentions | Granted27,329 issues | Denied31,383 issues |
|---|---|---|
| A medical opinion, or the words nexus or at least as likely as not, anywhere in the decision | 88 percent | 70 percent |
| The words lay statement, buddy statement, or lay evidence | 66 percent | 55 percent |
| A hearing was held (the veteran or a witness testified) | 49 percent | 23 percent |
| The decision calls an exam or medical opinion inadequate | 10 percent | 5 percent |
These are mentions in the written decision, not reasons for the outcome. A denied issue can mention a doctor's opinion just as a granted one does. Whether the opinion was for or against the claim, and the reasons it gave, are not something these counts can see. Each item is counted for the whole decision, so it may concern another issue decided in the same document.
Claimed together
A pair gets its own page once it appears at least 100 times and the Board decided at least 20 of them. Pairs below that are in the data but have no page.
Claimed as secondary to tinnitus
Vertigo secondary to tinnitus
Since 2019: 324 issues paired, 25 percent granted of the ones decided
Depression or anxiety secondary to tinnitus
Since 2019: 261 issues paired, 59 percent granted of the ones decided
Migraines secondary to tinnitus
Since 2019: 334 issues paired, 69 percent granted of the ones decided
Hearing loss secondary to tinnitus
Since 2019: 126 issues paired, 24 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to tinnitus
Since 2019: 115 issues paired, 35 percent granted of the ones decided
PTSD secondary to tinnitus
Since 2019: 54 issues paired, 56 percent granted of the ones decided
Tinnitus claimed as secondary to something else
Five recent decisions about tinnitus
- June 30, 2026Denied
Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 29, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 24, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 4, 2026Denied
Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 3, 2026Denied
Service connection for tinnitus
Read the decision at VA.gov
What this means for you
The tinnitus the schedule rates is ringing, buzzing, or humming that only you can hear. No test measures it, so what you say about it is the core of the claim. (The rule treats the rare kind that others can hear as part of whatever is behind it.)
Say when it started, what it sounds like, how often it comes, and what was loud around you in service. Your job, your unit, and your duty station tell the noise story. A statement from someone who remembers you complaining about it back then helps.
The rating schedule gives tinnitus one flat rating, the same for one ear or both. So a first claim turns on the link to service, not on how loud the ringing is, and a claim for a higher rating runs into that flat rate.
Tinnitus and hearing loss are separate issues, even when the same exam covers both. A denial on hearing loss does not decide the tinnitus claim. Tinnitus is also claimed as secondary to service-connected hearing loss or a head injury, and that claim needs a doctor to say the first led to the second and to explain why.
Keep reading
Board decisions by condition
Every condition family and the secondary pairs that appeared most, counted from 1,479,738 Board decisions.
How to Read a Board of Veterans' Appeals Decision
Where VA Board decisions live and how to read one in ten minutes, using a real back case.
Lay Evidence and Buddy Statements That Hold Up at the Board
Who can write a statement for you, what they can say, and how the VA weighs it, with prompts for knee, back, sleep apnea, and PTSD.
Free to use. The written playbook is $49.99 once, when it ships.
An issue is counted in a family by its diagnostic code or by the words in the issue. One issue can be counted in more than one family. Percent granted is of the ones the Board decided, so remands and dismissals are left out. The example decisions are recent ones we could link whose issue names this condition, chosen so that both outcomes are shown when we have them. Reopened claims and effective-date disputes are left out. Past decisions do not predict yours. Each page states the decisions from 2019 on, and says so, unless the Board decided too few of them since 2019 to give a percentage worth reading. Where that happens the page counts every year instead and tells you it has. This page is education, not legal advice. Rules quoted are from 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4, as published on the government's eCFR website. Board decisions are public records, linked at their source.