Thanks for the advice, Donozark. As fate would have it, I am an attorney, although I haven't practiced for the last ten years or so. If I do end up in a scuffle with the VA, one of my friends, a Vietnam Vet who is also an attorney, has said he would assist me.
To be quite frank, I'm not sure I could establish service connection for the tinnitus. My company was set in providing security to an artillery battery for a while. Those guns make a lot of noise when you're up close to them and we were not issued ear protection.
Nos genuflectitur ad non princeps sed Princeps Pacem!
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV) Establishing etiology is never an easy thing. However, being in one of the combat arms with an MOS reflecting same, makes it easier.
Many vets may have had minimal problem with their service connected tinnitus until later in life. Many medications (Beta-blockers in particular) raise hell with tinnitus. What may have been mere "water running" now sounds like Niagara Falls.
Good luck!