Tinnitus Information and Treatment

Service Connection for Bilateral Tinnitus?

I recently returned from Iraq, where I served a healthcare specialist. I was in a situation where I was directly mortared, and as a result lost some hearing (still within normal range) and developed tinnitus. When I filed my claim for disability I was told that “A review of your DD 214, Separation from Military Service Document revealed your military occupation (MOS) to be Health Care Specialist for 2 years and 2 months. This is not an MOS for which noise exposure is conceded for VA rating pruposes because performing this type of occupation would not generally expose a veteran to loud noise”.

If I’m understanding their explanation correctly they’re essentially saying that certain MOSs will assume a service connection for tinnitus as opposed to requiring further evidence for the nexus between your ailment and military service. The VA does this in other ways too, the classic example being the set of dioxin related ailments where they’ll assume a nexus if your paperwork states you had boots on the ground in Vietnam during the conflict.

It doesn’t mean you can’t get service connected rating, it just means you’ll have to provide additional evidence. I’d recommend appealing via the DRO process, which your paperwork in the denial should explain is essentially just saying you disagree with the decision and requesting a DRO appeal.

You can argue why you disagree if you want, but you’ll probably be wasting your time. It’s better if you provide evidence as to why the decision was wrong and that shows a nexus between your tinnitus (which I’m assuming the medical records you provided shows you currently and continue to suffer from) and your military service.

That nexus evidence is key, otherwise they’ll treat you as if you got tinnitus from something in civilian life which isn’t their concern. If your medical records have your doctor on record saying that your tinnitus, more likely than not, was the result of your military service, that’s a great start. Having a specific nexus letter you can point to from your doctor saying explicitly that is even better. If you have or can get documentation of the mortar incident and treatment records from your service medical records, that’ll help as well. If you weren’t treated at the time for whatever reason I’d strongly recommend hunting down someone(s) in your unit who witnessed the event so they can type you up signed “buddy letters” describing what happened.

So quick summary:

1) You aren’t out of luck due to your MOS, the VA is just going to want more evidence tying your ailment to your service.

2) Medical records stating, and preferably a doctor’s letter (nexus letter) stating that your ailment more likely than not is a result of your military service is something you definitely need to send in to help prove your case.

3) Additional documentation of the mortar incident could certainly help to cover your bases to prove that your service included an incident that caused this ailment: military/medical records and/or buddy letters are your friend with this one.

4) The appeal wording to should be short and sweet and point to this evidence that you have provided as to why you disagree with the decision.

For more detailed help and advice I’d strongly recommend Jim Strickland’s mailbag. He volunteers his time to help vets get through the bureaucratic maze of VA claims and has been spot on and frank with his answers, even if they’re answers someone doesn’t want to hear (like the VA not caring about your economic situation when it comes to claims).

That website is here: http://www.vawatchdog.org/jim%20strickland.htm

You can e-mail him directly and also use the Q&A already posted on the site, as well as use the guide to claims they have linked there which covers a lot of the bases on how to word various letters (by you, buddies, and doctors), fill out the forms, etc in the proper VA-speak.

Hope that helps you out and points you in the right direction for further assistance.

VA Math