Was your military job noisy?
Hearing loss and tinnitus are the two most claimed VA disabilities, and both turn on whether you were exposed to hazardous noise in service. VA's own Duty MOS Noise Exposure Listing answers that for nearly every job in every branch. Look yours up below.
Start typing your job to see how VA classifies its noise exposure. 1,139 jobs are listed across all branches.
A listing here is a VA reference aid, not a guarantee of service connection. You still need a current diagnosis and a link to your service.
How VA uses this
- Highly Probable or Moderate: VA concedes in service hazardous noise exposure. You still need a current diagnosis and a medical opinion linking it to service.
- Low: VA does not automatically concede exposure, but you can still show it with service records, a buddy statement, or a secondary duty that was noisy.
- This listing is a rating aid only. It does not by itself grant a rating.
Worked around jet fuel? It can affect hearing too
VA research found that JP-8 exposure, even at low levels, is linked to auditory processing dysfunction: the ear hears the sound, but the brain struggles to decipher it. Veterans with this problem can pass a standard hearing test and still have real trouble following speech, and the damage was worst when fuel and hazardous noise came together, which is exactly what a flight line delivers. If you handled fuel, tell your examiner, even if your audiogram looks normal.
What VA's jet fuel research shows Print the exposure history checklistRelated condition guides
Linking to a searchable version of VA's Duty MOS Noise Exposure Listing? You are welcome to reference this tool. Copy the citation below, or download the complete listing as a spreadsheet.