Ringing and Silence
A Veteran's Guide to VA Disability for Tinnitus and Hearing Loss
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About this book
Tinnitus and hearing loss are two claims, rated two different ways.
The ringing and the missed words often come from the same blast, the same flight line or the same years next to a generator. The VA still treats them as two conditions. Tinnitus has its own diagnostic code and a single ten percent ceiling. Hearing loss is measured in a sound booth with an audiogram and the Maryland CNC speech test, then run through rating tables you can check yourself. This guide explains both in plain language, so you can name each condition correctly, walk into the C&P audiology exam prepared, and read your decision letter with your own eyes.
Owen, a combat medic whose ears never came back from an IED blast, runs through every chapter. His story is a composite, and his results are examples, not promises.
Inside this book
- 1What the VA Actually Rates: Tinnitus and Hearing Loss Are Two Separate Claims
- 2The Evidence That Decides: The Audiogram and the C&P Exam
- 3Proving Service Connection: Noise Exposure, Your MOS, and the In-Service Event
- 4Tinnitus and the 10 Percent Ceiling: Diagnostic Code 6260
- 5How Hearing Loss Is Rated: The 38 CFR 4.85 and 4.86 Math
- 6Nexus Letters, Buddy Statements, and Beating the "Not Shown in Service" Denial
- 7Secondary Claims and Aggravation: Tinnitus, Meniere's, and Hearing Loss Connected to Other Conditions
- 8Filing, Appealing, and Getting Free Accredited Help
- 9Inside the Exam Room: Your C&P Audiology Exam, Start to Finish
- 10Hearing Aids, VA Health Care, and Why Your Rating Is Separate
- 11Owen's Claim, Start to Finish
The book points you to its free field guide, Filing a Tinnitus and Hearing Loss Claim (a free download, no signup).
Pairs with
Free guides and worksheets need no signup and no book. Books and workbooks are coming soon.
Workbook · Coming soonThe Tinnitus and Hearing Loss Claim Workbook
Free guideFiling a Tinnitus and Hearing Loss Claim
Free worksheetHearing Record
J. Erickson
Author, educator, former veteran service officer.
J. Erickson is a service-disabled Air Force veteran. He served as a military firefighter and as a veteran service officer, where he spent years walking veterans through the same claims process he writes about now. He holds an MBA and writes plain-language guides for veterans who want to understand the system without a translator.
Read more about the author