Ivan Buxton Gay Jr.

If you served in the Navy, there is a good chance your hearing paid a price. Jet engines on the flight deck. Engine rooms running at full throttle. Weapons systems. Diesel machinery. Years of noise exposure, often without adequate protection. The result shows up in VA claims data year after year: tinnitus is the single most commonly claimed VA disability, and hearing loss isn’t far behind.

More than 1.6 million veterans received disability compensation for hearing loss in 2025, and more than 3 million received compensation for tinnitus. Navy veterans make up a significant share of both numbers. If you haven’t filed — or if you filed years ago and haven’t revisited your claim — this post covers what you need to know right now.

Ivan Buxton Gay Jr., a Navy veteran who served aboard the USS Forrestal, has followed veterans’ benefits issues closely for years. This is one of the most commonly underfiled claims in the community, and the window to get the rating right may be narrowing.

What the VA Currently Provides for Tinnitus and Hearing Loss

The VA rates tinnitus under Diagnostic Code 6260 at a flat 10%, regardless of severity or whether it affects one ear or both. As of 2026, that rating provides $180.42 per month.

That number sounds modest on its own. But tinnitus rarely stands alone, and this is where Navy veterans often leave money on the table. When combined with hearing loss, sleep disorders, or mental health conditions also linked to military noise exposure, total monthly compensation can climb well into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. A veteran with tinnitus at 10%, hearing loss at 10%, and a knee condition at 20% would have a combined rating of approximately 40% using VA math, which provides $795.84 per month.

Hearing loss itself is rated on a scale from 0% to 100% depending on severity, measured through an official audiology exam. Even a 0% service-connected hearing loss rating is worth establishing — it opens the door to future increases and VA healthcare for that condition.

What’s Changing — And Why You Should File Now

This is the part Ivan Buxton Gay Jr. wants Navy veterans to watch. The VA has proposed significant changes to how tinnitus is rated under Diagnostic Code 6260. The proposed rule would eliminate standalone tinnitus ratings, instead requiring tinnitus to be attributed to another ratable condition — such as hearing loss, a perforated eardrum, or Ménière’s disease — to receive a disability rating.

The final rule has not been implemented — the current 10% rating under Diagnostic Code 6260 remains in effect. But the proposal has been in development for several years and could be finalized at any point. Veterans already receiving a tinnitus rating are grandfathered in — the proposed changes would not reduce or eliminate existing compensation. The rule, if finalized, would only affect new claims filed after the effective date.

The practical takeaway: if you have tinnitus and haven’t filed, the time to act is before the rule changes, not after.

What Proof You Need to File

Three things establish service connection for tinnitus or hearing loss: a current diagnosis, proof of noise exposure during service, and a link between the two.

For noise exposure, relevant proof includes military occupational specialty records — infantry, aviation, artillery, and armor are among the MOSs recognized for high noise exposure — as well as service treatment records showing audiograms, hearing complaints, or documented noise exposure. For Navy veterans, that means records documenting work on the flight deck, in machinery spaces, around weapons systems, or in any other high-noise environment aboard ship.

Buddy testimonials— written accounts from fellow service members who can attest to the noisy environments you shared — can meaningfully strengthen a claim. These carry real weight with the VA, particularly for tinnitus, which cannot be measured by a machine and relies heavily on the veteran’s credible self-report.

A personal testimonial describing when tinnitus began, how it affects daily life, and how it connects specifically to service duties is one of the most important pieces of proof a veteran can submit. Write it clearly and in detail.

How to File

Claims for tinnitus and hearing loss are filed through VA.gov using VA Form 21-526EZ. Before filing, schedule an audiology exam — the VA will only accept results from an approved facility, so confirm the exam is conducted by a licensed audiologist using VA-approved protocols. The VA will also typically schedule a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam as part of the claims process.

Most tinnitus claims are decided within three to five months, though timelines vary by regional office and whether a C&P exam is required. Given the VA’s current staffing losses — including nearly 2,000 fewer claims processors than a year ago — that timeline may stretch. Filing sooner rather than later puts you ahead of a backlog that is only likely to grow.

If a claim has already been denied, that isn’t the end of the road. Veterans can file a Supplemental Claim with stronger proof , request a Higher-Level Review, or appeal through the Board of Veterans Appeals. The DAV, VFW, and American Legion all offer free claims assistance — a VSO can review your file and identify gaps in the proof before you refile.

For the full overview of current VA disability rates and claim guidance, visit VA.gov.

Every sailor who ever stood watch, ran drills, or deployed aboard a Navy vessel served on a ship with a history that extends far beyond their own time on it. For many veterans, curiosity about that larger story only grows with time. Where was this ship before I reported aboard? What did it do in previous conflicts? What happened to it after I left?

Those answers exist. They’re free to access. And most Navy veterans — and the families who want to honor them — don’t know where to look.

Ivan Buxton Gay Jr. served aboard the USS Forrestal, one of the most storied carriers in Navy history. That ship launched in 1954, deployed across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and suffered one of the worst peacetime disasters in the Navy’s modern era before Ivan ever set foot on its flight deck. Knowing that history adds layers to what service aboard her meant. This guide covers the resources Ivan Buxton Gay Jr. recommends for any veteran — or the families of veterans — who want to do the same for their own ship.

Start With the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

The first stop for any ship history research is the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, maintained by the Naval History and Heritage Command. The DANFS covers Navy ships and small craft from the War of Independence to the present day. Each entry includes a ship’s commissioning date, hull classification, key deployments, battle participation, and final disposition.

It’s searchable by ship name and is entirely free. For veterans researching a carrier, destroyer, submarine, or support vessel, this is where the narrative history lives — written by naval historians, sourced from official records. It’s the place to understand what a ship did before and after you served on it.

Use the Naval Vessel Register for Official Records

For official technical and administrative records, the Naval Vessel Register is the authoritative source. The NVR contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy, covering the full lifecycle from authorization through disposal. It is maintained by the Naval Sea Systems Command on behalf of the Chief of Naval Operations.

The NVR is particularly useful for finding hull numbers, class designations, and disposition dates — the kind of technical detail that helps a veteran confirm exactly which vessel they served on and trace its official record. It’s more administrative than narrative, but it complements the DANFS well.

Dig Deeper With the Naval History and Heritage Command

Beyond the DANFS, the Naval History and Heritage Command holds an enormous collection of primary source material. NHHC archivists catalog deck logs, organizational records, and command operations reports. The command’s research support includes access to 182,000 books, 374,000 manuscripts, 27,000 cubic feet of official records and personal papers, 5,000 reels of microfilm, and over one million still photographs and negatives, with a good portion available online.

For veterans or families looking to go beyond a summary history — to find photographs of a specific ship during a specific deployment, or to read the deck logs from a particular year — this is the resource that makes that possible. The NHHC also maintains an oral histories collection and a photo archive, both searchable online.

Search the Navy Log for Shipmates

Once a veteran has researched the ship itself, the Navy Log at the Navy Memorial offers something different: the people who served on it. The Navy Log allows veterans to search by duty station and year, which means it’s possible to find other sailors who served aboard the same vessel during the same period — and to add your own entry to that record. 

For families researching a deceased veteran’s service, the Navy Log accepts entries submitted on behalf of those who can no longer record their own history. It’s one of the few places where the human experience of serving aboard a particular ship gets documented alongside the official record.

Request Deck Logs and Service Records

For veterans who want original documentation — official deck logs, cruise books, or individual service records — the NHHC and the National Archives both hold these materials. Deck logs can be requested directly through the NHHC’s archives. Individual service records for veterans are held by the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis and can be requested through the National Archives’ 

These requests can take time, but for veterans building a complete picture of their service — or for families honoring a veteran’s legacy — they’re worth pursuing.

A Note on Cruise Books

One resource that often gets overlooked: cruise books. These are the yearbook-style publications produced by ships at the end of a deployment, and they’re full of photographs, crew rosters, and firsthand accounts of where the ship went and what it did. The Navy Department Library maintains a collection of cruise books that can be browsed through the NHHC website. Not every ship produced one for every deployment, but for major carriers and surface combatants, they’re often available — and they offer a window into shipboard life that no official record can replicate.

For full access to all of these resources, start at history.navy.mil — the central hub for Navy historical research, and a site every veteran and military relative should have bookmarked.