VA Sleep Apnea, Tinnitus and Mental Health Rating Changes: Still Not Final in Fall 2026. Should You File Now?

Quick Answer

No, the changes are not final. VA proposed new rating criteria for sleep apnea and tinnitus (87 FR 8474) and for mental disorders (87 FR 8498) on February 15, 2022, and as of October 1, 2026 the Federal Register shows no final rule for either. VA had told the Government Accountability Office it planned to finish these rules in fiscal year 2026, which ended September 30, 2026. Until a final rule takes effect, VA rates every claim under the current criteria, and federal law (38 U.S.C. 1155 and 38 CFR 3.951(a)) prevents a schedule change from reducing a rating already in effect. Veterans with an unclaimed sleep apnea or tinnitus condition generally have the most reason to file now.

Key Takeaways

• The sleep apnea and tinnitus changes sit in one proposed rule (RIN 2900-AQ72), and the mental health changes sit in another (RIN 2900-AQ82). Neither has been finalized.
• Under the proposal, sleep apnea treated effectively with a CPAP machine would no longer support the current 50% rating, and tinnitus would lose its standalone 10% diagnostic code.
• The mental health proposal is different: it would set a 10% minimum and could rate some veterans higher than today’s formula does.
• A rating in effect on the date of a schedule change cannot be reduced because of that change unless VA shows actual improvement.
• An intent to file protects your effective date for one year, which gives you time to build a strong claim under today’s criteria.

For many veterans around Clarksville and Fort Campbell, the rumor mill has been running for years. Every few months, someone hears that the “new VA sleep apnea rules” start next month. We wrote this post to separate what VA has actually published from what is still speculation, and to help you decide whether filing now makes sense for you.

What the VA Proposed for Sleep Apnea, Tinnitus and Mental Health Ratings

VA’s rating schedule (the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities, found in 38 CFR Part 4) assigns percentages to conditions based on how much they are expected to reduce earning capacity. In February 2022, VA published two proposed rules that would rewrite three of the most commonly claimed conditions.

Sleep apnea: rating the result, not the machine

Today, Diagnostic Code 6847 rates sleep apnea largely by the treatment a doctor prescribes. In the February 15, 2022 proposed rule for the respiratory and ear, nose and throat systems, VA said the current criteria “evaluate based upon treatment rather than actual impairment” and proposed to focus on whether treatment works.

The proposed note defines qualifying comorbid conditions as those that, in a qualified provider’s opinion, directly impede or prevent habitual use of an effective treatment, with examples such as contact dermatitis where the mask touches the face, Parkinson’s disease, missing limbs, facial disfigurement or skull fracture.

The practical effect is significant. A veteran whose CPAP machine fully controls their sleep apnea is rated at 50% today. Under the proposal, the same veteran could be rated at 0%.

Tinnitus: no more standalone 10%

Today, Diagnostic Code 6260 assigns a single 10% rating for recurrent tinnitus. The same proposed rule would delete DC 6260 entirely and treat tinnitus as a symptom of an underlying condition, such as hearing loss, Meniere’s disease or traumatic brain injury. For tinnitus tied to hearing loss, VA would add 10% only when the hearing loss itself is rated at 0%. If the hearing loss is already rated 10% or higher, no additional tinnitus rating would be assigned.

Mental health: five domains and a 10% minimum

The February 15, 2022 proposed rule for mental disorders would replace the current General Rating Formula, last substantively revised in 1996, with a system that scores functional impairment in five domains:

1. Cognition
2. Interpersonal interactions and relationships
3. Task completion and life activities
4. Navigating environments
5. Self-care

Each domain would be scored from 0 to 4 based on severity and how often the impairment occurs. A score of 4 in any one domain would support 100%, and a score of 3 in one domain would support 70%. VA also proposed eliminating the 0% rating and setting a 10% minimum for any diagnosed mental disorder, and folding eating disorders into the same formula.

The Missed September 30, 2026 Target

VA has been revising its rating schedule body system by body system since 2009. In testimony to the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs on January 14, 2026, GAO reported that VA had updated 11 of its 15 body systems. The four remaining were mental disorders, respiratory, auditory and neurological conditions.

GAO also reported that, in December 2025, VA officials said the department had approved plans to finalize the remaining three rating schedule rules in fiscal year 2026. The federal fiscal year 2026 ended on September 30, 2026. As of October 1, 2026, the Federal Register lists only the 2022 proposals (and a 2024 supplemental proposal adding a code for constrictive bronchiolitis) under the respiratory and ENT rule, and only the 2022 proposal under the mental disorders rule.

What VA’s own regulatory agenda says

The current Unified Agenda entries tell a slightly different story than the GAO testimony:

The prior edition of the agenda had listed December 2025 for both. These are planning targets, not deadlines, and VA has moved them repeatedly. The honest answer is that nobody outside VA knows when final rules will appear, and the final text could differ from the 2022 proposals after the public comments VA received.

Do not confuse this with the 2026 medication rule

In February 2026, VA published an interim final rule on how medication affects ratings under 38 CFR 4.10, then rescinded it ten days later and restored the prior text. That episode involved a different regulation. It did not finalize the sleep apnea, tinnitus or mental health proposals.

Why Claims Filed Before a Final Rule Keep the Current Criteria

Two separate protections apply, and it helps to keep them apart.

Ratings already in effect are protected by statute

The last sentence of 38 U.S.C. 1155 says that “in no event shall such a readjustment in the rating schedule cause a veteran’s disability rating in effect on the effective date of the readjustment to be reduced unless an improvement in the veteran’s disability is shown to have occurred.” VA’s regulation, 38 CFR 3.951(a), says the same thing. VA’s tinnitus proposal states directly that it “will have no impact on veterans currently in receipt of service connection for tinnitus under DC 6260,” because those ratings are governed by 3.951(a).

So if you are rated 50% for sleep apnea with a CPAP today, a new schedule alone cannot lower that rating. VA could still reduce it through the normal reduction process if an examination shows your condition has actually improved. Separately, a rating held continuously for 20 years or more cannot be reduced below that level except for fraud under 38 CFR 3.951(b).

Pending claims are rated under the criteria in effect for each period

A claim decided before a final rule takes effect is simply decided under today’s criteria. If a final rule takes effect while your claim or appeal is still pending, VA’s General Counsel precedent opinion VAOPGCPREC 3-2000 sets out the approach: VA applies the prior criteria to the period before the change’s effective date, and applies the new criteria from the effective date forward only if they are more favorable. Under 38 U.S.C. 5110(g), a liberalizing change cannot produce benefits for any period before its own effective date.

A final rule can include its own instructions for pending claims, so we will read the effective date and applicability language closely when VA publishes it. What we can say today is that filing now does not lock you out of a more generous rule later.

Who Should File or Request an Increase Now

Whether to act now depends on your condition, your current rating and the strength of your evidence. These are the groups we generally talk with first.

Veterans with sleep apnea who have never filed

If you were diagnosed with sleep apnea in service, or believe it is connected to a service-connected condition, the current CPAP-based criteria are more favorable than the proposal for any veteran whose CPAP controls their symptoms. A claim decided before a final rule takes effect is rated under today’s DC 6847.

Veterans with ringing in the ears who have never claimed it

Today, recurrent tinnitus carries its own 10% rating. Under the proposal, a veteran with compensable hearing loss would receive nothing additional for tinnitus. If you have recurrent tinnitus from noise exposure in service, filing under the current code is worth discussing.

Veterans with mental health conditions

This is where we urge more care. The proposed mental health formula could rate some veterans higher, particularly those with severe impairment in a single area of functioning. Because a more favorable rule can apply to a pending claim from its effective date forward, waiting is rarely necessary. A well-documented claim under today’s formula, supported by treatment records and lay statements, is still the strongest move.

Veterans thinking about an increase

A request for an increase usually means a new compensation and pension examination, and that exam can also show improvement. Before you ask VA to look again at a protected rating, we recommend reviewing your records with someone who knows the reduction rules. Our post on the VA rating reduction proposal process explains how VA must give notice before reducing a rating.

Use an intent to file to protect your date

Under 38 CFR 3.155(b), if VA receives a complete claim within one year of your intent to file, VA treats the claim as filed on the intent to file date. That protects your potential back pay while you gather medical evidence. For an increase, 38 CFR 3.400(o)(2) allows an effective date up to one year before the claim when an increase is factually ascertainable in that window.

Example Scenarios

These hypothetical examples show how the rules apply in different situations.

A retired soldier with a CPAP who never filed

A veteran who retired from Fort Campbell was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea during service and has used a CPAP every night since. He never filed because he assumed sleep apnea “doesn’t count.” Under today’s criteria, a service-connected sleep apnea requiring a CPAP is rated 50%. If he waits and a final rule like the 2022 proposal takes effect first, the same evidence could support 0% if the CPAP fully controls his symptoms. This is the clearest case for filing now.

A veteran already rated for tinnitus and hearing loss

A Clarksville veteran is rated 10% for hearing loss and 10% for tinnitus. She worries that the new rule will take her tinnitus rating away. Under 38 U.S.C. 1155 and 38 CFR 3.951(a), a schedule change cannot reduce a rating in effect on the change’s effective date, and VA’s own proposal says existing tinnitus ratings under DC 6260 are not affected. She does not need to do anything to protect that rating.

A Marine veteran with PTSD rated at 30%

A veteran rated 30% for PTSD has seen his symptoms worsen, including panic attacks and trouble keeping a job. He has read that the new mental health formula may be more generous and wonders if he should wait. Because his symptoms have worsened now, a claim for increase under today’s formula, supported by current treatment records, is the better path, and a more favorable final rule could still apply to his claim going forward if it takes effect while his claim is pending. If his condition keeps him from working, our guide to TDIU benefits may also apply.

How Martin Disability Law Can Help Before the Rules Change

Pending rules create a planning problem, not a reason to panic. Our job is to help you file the right claim, at the right time, with the evidence to support it.

Attorney Daniel Martin is accredited by the VA Office of General Counsel and admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. He began working at his father’s disability firm in 2011 and opened his own Clarksville practice in 2017, focused on VA and Social Security disability. His father, Peter Martin, is a U.S. Navy veteran with more than 40 years of experience in Social Security law, and Daniel’s grandfather was also a veteran. When you work with us, you meet with Daniel directly.

Here is what we can do for you now:

• Review your service treatment records, sleep studies and audiology results to see which conditions are worth claiming under the current criteria
• Help you file an intent to file so your effective date is protected while you gather evidence
• Prepare you for the compensation and pension exam, which often decides the rating; our post on what to expect at a VA C&P exam is a good place to start
• Challenge a decision that assigned the wrong code or the wrong percentage, as explained in our guide to appealing a low VA rating
• Watch the Federal Register and explain exactly how any final rule affects your claim when it is published

Under VA’s fee rules (38 CFR 14.636(c)), accredited attorneys may generally charge a fee only for work done after VA has issued notice of an initial decision on a claim. Consultations with our office are free, and we do not get paid unless we win.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have the new VA sleep apnea rating criteria taken effect?

No. As of October 1, 2026, VA has not published a final rule for RIN 2900-AQ72, which contains the sleep apnea and tinnitus changes. Until a final rule is published and its effective date arrives, VA rates sleep apnea under the current DC 6847.

Will VA lower my current sleep apnea rating when the new rule takes effect?

Not because of the rule itself. Federal law prevents a schedule readjustment from reducing a rating in effect on the readjustment’s effective date unless VA shows your condition actually improved.

Is VA getting rid of the 10% tinnitus rating?

That is what the 2022 proposal would do for new claims, by deleting DC 6260 and rating tinnitus as part of an underlying condition. It is not final, and VA has said existing tinnitus ratings would not be affected.

Will the mental health changes raise or lower ratings?

It depends on the veteran. The proposal sets a 10% minimum and allows a 100% rating based on total impairment in one domain, which may help some veterans. Others could be rated differently. The final rule may also change after public comment.

Should I wait for the new mental health rules before filing?

Usually not. If a more favorable rule takes effect while your claim is pending, VA’s precedent applies it from its effective date forward. Waiting only delays benefits you may be entitled to now.

What is the deadline to file under the current criteria?

There is no published deadline, because VA has not issued a final rule or effective date. That uncertainty is the reason we suggest at least filing an intent to file if you have a qualifying condition.

References

• Department of Veterans Affairs, Proposed Rule, Schedule for Rating Disabilities: Ear, Nose, Throat, and Audiology Disabilities; Respiratory System, 87 FR 8474 (February 15, 2022), RIN 2900-AQ72
• Department of Veterans Affairs, Proposed Rule, Schedule for Rating Disabilities: Mental Disorders, 87 FR 8498 (February 15, 2022), RIN 2900-AQ82
• Department of Veterans Affairs, Supplemental Proposed Rule, 89 FR 74162 (September 12, 2024)
• Government Accountability Office, GAO-26-108844, testimony of January 14, 2026
• Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Unified Agenda entries for RINs 2900-AQ72 and 2900-AQ82
• 38 U.S.C. 1155 and 5110(g); 38 CFR 3.155, 3.400, 3.951, 4.87, 4.97, 4.130 and 14.636
• VA Office of General Counsel, VAOPGCPREC 3-2000 (April 10, 2000)

Protecting Your Rating While VA Decides

The proposed changes to sleep apnea, tinnitus and mental health ratings have been pending for more than four and a half years, and they may be finalized with little warning. Veterans who already hold ratings are protected. Veterans who have not yet filed have the most to gain by acting under the criteria in place today.

If you are a veteran in Clarksville, Montgomery County or anywhere in Middle Tennessee and want to know where your claim stands, our Clarksville veterans disability team offers a free consultation. We will review your records, explain your options under the current rules, and tell you honestly whether filing now is right for you.