On February 9, 2015, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) issued an opinion stating “[as] urged by the veteran, that [38 C.F.R.] § 3.309(a) includes tinnitus, at a minimum where there is evidence of acoustic trauma, as an “organic disease[] of the nervous system.” That decision can be accessed at Fountain 13-0540 (Fountain v. McDonald). In essence, the CAVC overturned a provision in VA Training Letter 10-02 (Adjudicating Claims for Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus) that found that “unlike hearing loss, tinnitus may not be service-connected as a presumptive condition under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a) because it is a subjective symptom rather than an organic disease of the nervous system.”
In rejecting the Secretary’s argument, the CAVC further held that nothing “preclude[es] establishing service connection for tinnitus on the basis of continuity of symptomatology [] and the appellant is not precluded from seeking VA benefits for his claimed tinnitus by way of the chronicity or continuity-of-symptomatology provisions of §§ 3.303 and 3.309(a).”
I’m aware that many veterans and advocates have had trouble finding an access point on the Internet for VA TL 10-02 and the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) Noise Exposure Listing [which includes MOSs for USMC/AF/NA/USCG]. I’ve uploaded those documents at Duty MOS Hearing Loss Probability Chart-VA Fast Letter 10-35 and VA Training Letter 10-02.