I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6297 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption of service 
connection for certain veterans with tinnitus or hearing loss, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 2, 2012 
Mr. BENISHEK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed 
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a pre-
sumption of service connection for certain veterans with 
tinnitus or hearing loss, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reducing Barriers to 
Veterans’ Benefits Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Tinnitus is the most common service-con-
nected disability for veterans from all periods of 
service, accounting for almost 841,000 individuals. 
(2) Hearing loss is the second leading service- 
connected disability for veterans from all periods of 
service, accounting for almost 702,000 individuals. 
(3) Since fiscal year 1999, the number of vet-
erans with service-connected disability for tinnitus 
has increased by an average rate of 17 percent each 
year. 
(4) The number of tinnitus disabilities has 
grown from 128,600 in fiscal year 1999 to 840,900 
in fiscal year 2011, an increase of more than 500 
percent. 
SEC. 3. PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE-CONNECTION FOR 
HEARING LOSS AND TINNITUS. 
(a) PRESUMPTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 11 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘§ 1119. Presumption of service connection for hear-
ing loss associated with particular mili-
tary occupational specialties or combat 
service 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) For purposes of section 1110 
of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this title, diag-
nosed hearing loss, tinnitus, or both of a veteran described 
in paragraph (2) shall be considered to have been incurred 
in or aggravated by the service of the veteran, notwith-
standing that there is no record of evidence of such hear-
ing loss or tinnitus, as the case may be, during the period 
of such service. 
‘‘(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a vet-
eran who while on active military, naval, or air service— 
‘‘(A) was assigned to a military occupational 
specialty or equivalent described in subsection (b); or 
‘‘(B) served in combat against a hostile force 
during a period of hostilities (as defined in section 
1712A(a)(2)(B) of this title). 
‘‘(b) MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY.—A mili-
tary occupational specialty or equivalent referred to in 
subsection (a)(2)(A) is a military occupational specialty or 
equivalent, if any, that the Secretary determines in regula-
tions prescribed under this section in which individuals as-
signed to such military occupational specialty or equiva-
lent in the active military, naval, or air service are or were 
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