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Veterans Affairs Hearing Loss Calculator

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Tdiu For Hearing Loss

How Does Veterans Affairs Test for Tinnitus? | VA Disability for Tinnitus | theSITREP

If your service-connected conditions prevent you from working, you may be entitled to total disability based on individual unemployability . For example, if you need full range of hearing for your job , and your hearing loss impacts your ability to work, you can explain that issue to VA. It is important to note that you can also have multiple service-connected conditions where hearing loss is only one of them, but the effects of hearing loss can be positive evidence in favor of entitlement to TDIU.

The Hearing Calculator Written In Visual Basic Code Analyzes Audio Metric Data From A Hearing Test And Then Determines Whether A Veteran Has A Hearing Loss The Extent Of The Loss In Terms Of Decibels And The Level Of Disability

Renford Patch has the kind of resume that would dazzle any employer. The disability claims reviewer at the Veterans Benefits Administration regional office in Phoenix, Ariz., majored in Chinese and minored in chemistry as an undergraduate at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City. He’s now pursuing a law degree.

Despite his heavy schedule, Patch still found the time to exercise his computer programming skills and last year developed a hearing test calculator to automate the steps for determining compensation owed for varying degrees of hearing loss. Mike Walcoff, VA’s acting undersecretary for benefits, told a media roundtable that the hearing loss calculator Patch developed works so well that VBA has rolled it out for use system-wide.

Patch said the hearing calculator, which he wrote in Visual Basic code, analyzes audio metric data from a hearing test and then determines whether a veteran has a hearing loss, the extent of the loss in terms of decibels, and the level of disability. The calculator then generates a narrative text file, citing relevant regulations for payment.

Patch said the calculator simplifies and automates a complex paper process. After a trial run in Phoenix last summer, VBA deployed it for use by claims examiners throughput the agency in September.

Walcoff said besides speeding claims processing, the hearing calculator also eliminates errors. VA chief of staff John Gingrich said the calculator has 100 percent accuracy.

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Special Monthly Compensation Rate Payment Variations

Effective December 1, 2021

Levels K and Q are special rates called SMC rate payment variations. We may add Level K to your basic SMC rate.

SMC-K and SMC-Q rates

How this payment variation works
SMC letter designation 118.33 How this payment variation works If you qualify for SMC-K, we add this rate to your basic disability compensation rate for any disability rating from 0% to 100%. We also add this rate to all SMC basic rates except SMC-O, SMC-Q, and SMC-R. You may receive 1 to 3 SMC-K awards in addition to basic and SMC rates.
SMC letter designation 67.00 How this payment variation works This is a protected rate that we havent awarded since August 19, 1968. If we awarded you an SMC-Q designation, we pay this rate in place of your basic disability compensation rate.

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How To Determine Your Monthly Va Disability Payment

To determine your monthly disability payment, navigate to the table below that fits your disability rating, marital and dependent status. Once youâre on the correct table, follow your rating across to your specific marital and dependent status.

If you have additional children or a spouse receiving Aid and Attendance benefits, you should include these figures from the added amounts table.

Jump directly to the tables here:

$3,802.99 $3,952.08

You may qualify for more depending on if your spouse receives Aid and Attendance benefits and the number of children you have. View the added amounts table here and how to calculate.

Fully Developed Disability Claims

Compensation for deafness at work £10,000

The next fasted option is the Fully Developed Disability Claims program.

The primary difference between the FDDC program and filing a standard claim is the Veteran must provide all evidence upfront and certify there’s no additional evidence needed to make a claim decision.

At a minimum, the Veteran should provide:

  • All military personnel records on the condition, and
  • All service treatment records on the condition, and
  • All private medical records on the condition, and
  • All VA health records or supplementary information about related VA health records that the VA can request on your behalf

If the VA requires additional information, the claim typically gets removed from the FDDC program and is processed as a standard claim.

Also Check: How To File For Permanent Disability

What Other Factors Does The Va Take Into Account For Disability

When deciding on a disability claim, the VA looks at your eligibility first. Then, it considers your conditions overall impact on your daily life, activities and employability.

If you think your VA rating is too high or too low, you can file an appeal to try to get the VA to increase your rating. Be sure to include evidence of your conditions impact on your life, like statements from doctors, employers or others close to you.

New Ongoing And Published Research

VA researchers are studying ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat hearing loss and related issues. They are also addressing a wide range of technological, medical, rehabilitative, and social issues associated with tinnitus and blast exposure.

If you are interested in learning about joining a VA-sponsored clinical trial, visit our research study information page.

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How The Va Rates Service

For a Veteran to receive disability benefits for hearing loss, the VA must be able to establish service connection for the condition. If the VA can confirm that your hearing damage resulted from your military service, they will rate your disability based on its severity. After the VA has established a service connection and approved your claim, you can start receiving tax-free monthly disability payments.

Hearing loss can range in severity, and some Veterans may be more disabled by their service-connected loss of hearing than others. If a Veteran is completely deaf due to service-related factors, they are far more likely to receive the maximum disability rating than a Veteran who is only partially hearing-impaired.

In addition, the VAs disability benefits run on a rating scale between 10 percent and 100 percent, increasing in increments of ten. This means that there are nine different ratings that a deaf or hard of hearing Veteran can receive the VA will choose whichever rating they feel most accurately reflects the severity of the Veterans condition. However, the most common rating the VA gives to Veterans with hearing problems is 10%, especially if a Veteran is suffering from tinnitus.

Va Ratings For Hearing Loss Ear Loss And Diseases Of The Ear

Maximum VA Rating for Hearing Loss Explained

The following are descriptions of ear-related medical conditions and their VA-rating percentages, found in the VA Schedule of Ratings Disabilities. These ratings are subject to change depending on legislation, VA policy, presidential directives or other factors.

Always consult a VA representative about your condition, the amount of compensation and any special requirements to apply for or receive compensation or VA benefits related to these conditions. You may need updates on current policy or pending legislation.

Condition: Hearing impairment

VA disability rating: Dependent on the level of hearing impairment, as determined by an examination by a state-licensed audiologist and the results of a controlled speech discrimination test and a puretone audiometry test, and can range from 0-100%.

Condition: Chronic suppurative otitis media, mastoiditis or cholesteatoma in any combination

VA disability rating: 10%

Condition: Chronic nonsuppurative otitis media with effusion

VA disability rating: Dependent on the amount of hearing loss associated with the condition

Condition: Otosclerosis

VA disability rating: Dependent on the amount of hearing loss associated with the condition

Condition: Peripheral vestibular disorders

Condition: Menieres syndrome

Condition: Loss of auricle

Condition: Malignant neoplasm

Condition: Benign neoplasms of the ear

VA disability rating: Depends on loss of function

Condition: Chronic otitis externa

Condition: Tympanic membrane perforation

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How Do I Get A Va Rating For Hearing Loss

There are 3 primary ways a veteran can get a VA disability rating for Hearing Loss:

#1: Direct Service Connection for Hearing Loss with a rating of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100% however, the average VA rating for Hearing Loss is 10%, and many veterans have a 0% rating, if theyre lucky enough to get their Hearing Loss service connected. Direct Service Connection means an in-service event, injury, or disease related to your military service caused you to develop Hearing Loss.

#2:Secondary Service Connection for Hearing Loss with a VA rating of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%. This is uncommon as Hearing Loss is mainly directly service connected. For example, a veteran can be rated for Hearing Loss and Tinnitus secondary to Mental Health Conditions such as PTSD, Depression, or Anxiety.

#3. Aggravation of a Pre-Service Disability for Hearing Loss. Perhaps you entered active duty service with minor Hearing Loss, but the military made it worse. If your military service aggravated the condition beyond its natural progression, you can get Hearing Loss service connected and rated based on aggravation of a pre-service disability.

Calculate Combined Disability Ratings Using Va Math

The VA uses a descending efficiency scale for its calculations. The VA will give each injury or illness a numerical rating.

When it comes time to determine the overall rating, the VA will start with the highest rating, then work its way down. You will always begin with an efficiency rating of 100. Each new disability gives you a new baseline.

We start by racking and stacking the disabilities. In the example above, we have ratings of 30%, 20%, 10% and 10%. We start with the 30%, then factor in the 20%, the 10% then the final 10%.

Again, we arent subtracting here were doing VA math.

You start with your efficiency rate of 100, multiply it by your disability rating, then subtract the result from your original rating.

In this case, you would multiply 30% times 100 and get 30. You subtract that from 100 and come up with 70.

Your new efficiency rating is 70, and your disability rating is 30.

This is the starting point for the next calculation. You repeat the process for the next rating. You take 20%, multiply it by 70, and come up with 14. You subtract 14 from 70, and you get 56.

Your new efficiency rating is 56, and your disability rating is 44. You repeat the process for each additional disability rating.

Caption: The VA rounds final ratings to the nearest 10 . Approximately symbols in the example above indicate rounding to the nearest whole number.

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Veterans Hard Of Hearing Va Can Help

Clinical implant audiologist Nancy Duran attaches a bone anchored hearing aid processor to a surgically implanted titanium abutment for Army Veteran Ahmedou Ali.

Army Veteran Ahmedou Ali loves his audiologists.

Im a 62 year old service-connected disabled Veteran who has been without hearing in the right ear for a long time. The bone anchored hearing aid VA provided opened up a whole new world for me.

I absolutely love my audiologists, Erica Bush and Nancy Duran , and the surgical team for making it happen.

According to Duran, a clinical/implant audiologist, With the number of Veterans affected by the occupational injury of hearing loss and tinnitus ever increasing, it is so important that VA is able to provide them with quality comprehensive hearing health care. The VA Audiology Program allows Veterans to receive comprehensive assessments, innovative rehabilitation programs for both hearing loss and tinnitus, and advanced technology.

For me to be able to provide these services is extremely rewarding.

VAs Audiology and Speech Language Pathology Services recognize the importance of caring for Veterans who experience difficulties with their hearing, balance, speech, and communication ability.

Hearing loss and tinnitus account for the two most prevalent service-connected disabilities among Veterans.

Multiple Services Provided

VA audiologists provide comprehensive hearing health care services, including:

Largest Team in America

What Are The Va Disability Ratings For Hearing Loss And Tinnitus

CALCULATION AND COMPARISON OF NEW SERIES DA WITH OLD SERIES DA

Hearing Loss is the #2 overall most claimed VA disability while Tinnitus is the #1 most common VA claim.

Heres a list of the Top 50 VA Disability Claims.

The VA rates Hearing Loss under CFR Title 38, Part 4, Schedule for Rating Disabilities, DC 6100, Hearing Loss.

VA Ratings for Hearing Loss range from 0 percent to 100 percent, with breaks at 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent, 70 percent, 80 percent, and 90 percent although the average VA rating for Hearing Loss is 10 percent, and many veterans have a 0 percent rating.

The highest scheduler rating for Hearing Loss is 100 percent, which means you have total deafness in both ears.

Pro Tip: If youve been out of the military for more than 12 months, Hearing Loss is one of the most difficult claims to get service connected and rated above 0%. Get a Medical Nexus Letter to improve your odds of service connected Hearing Loss.

Do you need a Nexus Letter?

Click HERE to become an Insider and get discounted members-only rates on Nexus Letters.

Become an Insider

Were Veterans helping Veterans Worldwide, and since 2016 weve helped 10,000+ Veterans just like you INCREASE their VA disability rating!

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How The Va Calculates Compensation Rates

When you prepare to retire or separate from military service, starting your VA disability claims process is among the things many must do as you out-process. You can also apply after youve left military service.

When you apply for compensation, the VA reviews your claims and assigns disability percentage ratings in 10% increments. For example, if you have a knee injury, the VA will determine the severity of that injury .

The VA may rate your condition between 10% up to 100% based on how it affects your life. Your rating percentage determines your compensation.

Some veterans may be entitled to more disability pay if certain conditions apply such as:

  • The veteran is living with severe disabilities
  • The veteran has lost one or more limbs
  • The veteran has a spouse, children or dependent parents
  • The veteran has a spouse who is experiencing a serious disability.

Many veterans have more than one medical issue, disability or disease. Each issue is rated separately, and you may be awarded a combined VA disability.

Combined totals are not the sum of multiple percentages. In cases where the VA must rate a veteran for more than one medical issue, the VA uses a combined ratings table to determine the final percentage.

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Va Disability Claim For Hearing Loss Or Tinnitus

Tinnitus is one of the most claimed disabilities when it comes to applying for disability compensation. Hearing loss comes in at a close second. This statistic comes from the 2015 Annual Benefits Report. The report shows that 9.6 percent of veterans claimed tinnitus and about 5.2 percent of veterans claimed hearing loss. Yet, these two disabilities will be denied time and time again to former service members and their family members.

The bottom line is that it is very important to have the three components mentioned earlier to establish service connection for hearing loss and/or tinnitus: a current diagnosis, evidence of an event that caused the condition, and a medical opinion linking the current hearing condition to the event in service or nexus. Any veteran struggling with tinnitus is hard of hearing, and/or is experiencing hearing loss, should not give up or become discouraged if they are denied the first time or even the second time around. This is a real issue for many veterans and can require real solutions such as Cochlear implants , sign language classes, or even inner ear/middle ear surgery. Hopefully, this information will help in the initial process when trying to establish a service connection for tinnitus and/or hearing loss.

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Heres A List Of Common Va Secondary Conditions To Hearing Loss And Tinnitus:

  • Vertigo secondary to Hearing Loss
  • Menieres Syndrome secondary to Hearing Loss
  • Anxiety secondary to Hearing Loss
  • Depression secondary to Hearing Loss
  • Adjustment Disorder secondary to Hearing Loss
  • Hearing Loss secondary to Tinnitus
  • Somatic Symptom Disorder secondary to Tinnitus
  • Menieres Syndrome secondary to Tinnitus

Example Va Disability Pay Calculation

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Another example is if the disabled Veteran has a spouse who is determined to require Aid and Attendance. Here we add the figure shown as additional for A& A spouse to the amount shown for the proper dependency code.

For example, a disabled Veteran with a 70% rating and an Aid and Attendance spouse and two minor children would receive $1,830.71 .

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What Percentage Does The Va Typically Compensate For Hearing Loss

While the U.S. Armed Forces recognizes hearing loss as one of its most prevalent service-connected medical conditions, the VA ratings are not stellar.

The typical disability ratings for hearing loss range from 0 10%.

In other words, the average disability rating will likely not cover the inconvenience and hassle of hearing impairment issues.

Nonetheless, additional services like hearing aids and service animals may supplement where monthly disability income is not sufficient.

Those that suffer from more severe types of hearing loss can receive a much higher VA rating than 0 10%.

It really depends on a case by case basis which is why you should schedule a hearing examination with a VA clinic as soon as possible.

How To Use The Tables To Find Your Monthly Payment

Find your basic rate

Go to the compensation rates for your disability rating. On the Basic monthly rates table, find the amount for your disability rating and dependent status. This is your basic monthly rate.

Example :If youre a Veteran with a 30% disability rating, and you have a dependent spouse , your basic monthly rate would be $522.39 each month.

Find your added amounts, if any apply

If your spouse receives Aid and Attendance benefits or you have more than one child, you may qualify for additional monthly payment amounts as listed in the Added amounts table.

First, determine your basic rate.

Example :If youre a Veteran with a 70% disability rating, and you have a spouse, plus 3 dependent children under the age of 18, you would start with the basic rate of $1,754.95 .

Next, look at the Added amounts table. Find the amount for children under age 18 .

Since your basic rate already provides payment for 1 child, you would add the rate of $64.00 for each additional child .

If your spouse receives Aid and Attendance, you would also add $119 .

In our example of a Veteran with 70% disability rating, your total monthly payment amount would be:

$1,754.95 basic rate + $64 +$64 +$119 Total $2,001.95

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