{"page":"https://casescribe.ai/explorer/secondary/tinnitus-secondary-to-hearing-loss","generated_at":"2026-10-03T18:34:25.902Z","data_as_of":{"decisions":944125,"first_year":2017,"last_year":2026,"latest_decision":"2026-04-30","cfr":"2026-10-01","m21":"2026-09-29"},"about":{"publisher":"CaseScribe AI (VA Law Explorer)","source":"Public Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions (appeals of VA decisions, not VA's first decisions), M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual, 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4.","method":"Outcomes are issue-level: each condition the Board decided in a decision counts once. Decision data is extracted by AI and can contain errors. Rates describe past appeals and do not predict any claim.","disclaimer":"For research only. CaseScribe AI is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Verify figures against the source decisions and regulations.","attribution":"Cite as: VA Law Explorer, CaseScribe AI, with the page URL."},"data":{"claim":"Tinnitus secondary to hearing loss","secondary_condition":"Tinnitus","service_connected_disability":"hearing loss","decisions":1456,"years":"2017-2026","granted_pct":65.6,"denied_pct":7.3,"remanded_pct":25.7,"granted_on_merits_pct":89.9,"by_year":[{"year":2017,"issues":81,"granted_pct":64.2,"denied_pct":7.4,"remanded_pct":19.8},{"year":2018,"issues":180,"granted_pct":72.8,"denied_pct":5,"remanded_pct":20.6},{"year":2019,"issues":234,"granted_pct":72.6,"denied_pct":4.3,"remanded_pct":22.2},{"year":2020,"issues":177,"granted_pct":61,"denied_pct":10.7,"remanded_pct":27.7},{"year":2021,"issues":128,"granted_pct":61.7,"denied_pct":7.8,"remanded_pct":29.7},{"year":2022,"issues":165,"granted_pct":64.2,"denied_pct":7.9,"remanded_pct":26.1},{"year":2023,"issues":161,"granted_pct":55.9,"denied_pct":8.7,"remanded_pct":34.8},{"year":2024,"issues":145,"granted_pct":60.7,"denied_pct":9,"remanded_pct":29},{"year":2025,"issues":138,"granted_pct":69.6,"denied_pct":8.7,"remanded_pct":21.7},{"year":2026,"issues":49,"granted_pct":73.5,"denied_pct":2,"remanded_pct":22.4}],"benefit_of_doubt_in_grants_pct":84,"evidence_on_merits":[{"evidence":"va_exam_favorable","decisions_with":404,"granted_pct_with":96.2,"granted_pct_without":86.6},{"evidence":"va_exam_unfavorable","decisions_with":1297,"granted_pct_with":89.4,"granted_pct_without":95},{"evidence":"nexus_positive","decisions_with":627,"granted_pct_with":97,"granted_pct_without":81.5},{"evidence":"nexus_negative","decisions_with":1155,"granted_pct_with":88.7,"granted_pct_without":95},{"evidence":"private_opinion","decisions_with":556,"granted_pct_with":94.5,"granted_pct_without":86.2},{"evidence":"treating_physician","decisions_with":53,"granted_pct_with":100,"granted_pct_without":89.5},{"evidence":"lay_statement","decisions_with":1206,"granted_pct_with":89.2,"granted_pct_without":94.9},{"evidence":"combat_service","decisions_with":150,"granted_pct_with":91.1,"granted_pct_without":89.8}],"top_reasons":{"granted":[{"reason":"caused by the service-connected disability","decisions":212},{"reason":"current diagnosis established","decisions":144},{"reason":"service connection established","decisions":98},{"reason":"in-service noise exposure conceded","decisions":32},{"reason":"tinnitus is a symptom associated with hearing loss","decisions":29},{"reason":"tinnitus associated with hearing loss","decisions":23}],"denied":[{"reason":"va examiner: less likely than not related to service","decisions":32},{"reason":"service records negative or silent","decisions":15},{"reason":"no in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis","decisions":13},{"reason":"no continuity of symptomatology","decisions":5},{"reason":"current diagnosis established","decisions":4},{"reason":"continuity of symptomatology since service","decisions":4}]},"recent_examples":{"granted":[{"case_id":"A26040562","year":2026,"judge":"M. C. GRAHAM","rationale":"Granted secondary to granted hearing loss; VA examiner opinion noted association between tinnitus and hearing loss"},{"case_id":"A26039043","year":2026,"judge":"PAUL SORISIO","rationale":"Conceded in-service noise exposure and TERA; Existing service connection for bilateral hearing loss; Judicial notice that hearing loss can cause tinnitus; Benefit of doubt resolved in Veteran's favor"},{"case_id":"A26038234","year":2026,"judge":"MELANIE J. MANN","rationale":"Current diagnosis of tinnitus; At least as likely as not associated with service-connected right ear hearing loss; Benefit of the doubt resolved in veteran's favor"}],"denied":[{"case_id":"A26014214","year":2026,"judge":"ERIC S. LEBOFF","rationale":"Current diagnosis of tinnitus.; VA examiner opined tinnitus proximately due to bilateral hearing loss.; Service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied.; No evidence suggests tinnitus is due to other service-connected disability."},{"case_id":"A25111022","year":2025,"judge":"DAVID H. ROBERTSON","rationale":"Service connection for hearing loss was denied, precluding secondary claim.; VA medical opinions found tinnitus less likely than not related to service.; No in-service onset of tinnitus reported."},{"case_id":"A25105802","year":2025,"judge":"M. C. GRAHAM","rationale":"No in-service event recalled for tinnitus onset.; VA examiners found less likely than not relation to military noise exposure.; No documentation of tinnitus in service or within one year of discharge.; Secondary claim to hearing loss not raised at time of AOJ decision."}]},"how_argued":{"note":"From keyword matches in each issue's AI summary and rationale, not the full decision. Only issues whose text names a medical link are counted under pathways; one issue can name several. A link named in a denial was often the argument the Board rejected.","issues":1458,"aggravation_discussed":{"issues":129,"granted_pct":16.3},"causation_only":{"issues":1329,"granted_pct":70.4},"issues_naming_a_pathway_pct":0.5,"pathways":[]},"how_va_rates":{"citation":"38 CFR 4.87","diagnostic_code":"6260","name":"Tinnitus, recurrent","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.87","levels":[{"criteria":"Tinnitus, recurrent","rating":10}],"notes":["Note (1): A separate evaluation for tinnitus may be combined with an evaluation under diagnostic codes 6100, 6200, 6204, or other diagnostic code, except when tinnitus supports an evaluation under one of those diagnostic codes.","Note (2): Assign only a single evaluation for recurrent tinnitus, whether the sound is perceived in one ear, both ears, or in the head.","Note (3): Do not evaluate objective tinnitus (in which the sound is audible to other people and has a definable cause that may or may not be pathologic) under this diagnostic code, but evaluate it as part of any underlying condition causing it."]},"requirements":"38 CFR 3.310: a current diagnosis, a service-connected disability, and medical evidence that it caused (3.310(a)) or aggravated (3.310(b)) the condition."}}