The most common VA disability claims and their ratings, based on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Annual Benefits Report for fiscal year 2024, are led by tinnitus at a flat 10 percent, followed by knee limitation of flexion, lumbosacral or cervical strain, limitation of arm motion, hearing loss, scars and burns, sciatic nerve paralysis, ankle limitation, migraines, and PTSD. Each condition sits under its own diagnostic code with its own rating scale, and most run from 0 percent up to a schedular ceiling that varies by condition.
The Ten Most Approved Claims in Fiscal Year 2024
Among veterans newly awarded compensation in FY 2024, the VA approved these conditions most often:
- Tinnitus — 273,502 approved claims
- Limitation of flexion, knee — 153,205
- Lumbosacral or cervical strain — 132,617
- Limitation of motion of the arm — 114,597
- Hearing loss — 108,105
- Scars and burns — 96,578
- Paralysis of the sciatic nerve — 86,121
- Limitation of motion of the ankle — 85,947
- Migraines — 83,992
- Post-traumatic stress disorder — 81,968
Depression, anxiety, sleep apnea, diabetes, degenerative arthritis of the spine, traumatic brain injury, flat feet, and respiratory diseases tied to toxic exposures fall just outside the top ten but are claimed in high numbers as well.
Tinnitus: A Flat 10 Percent
Tinnitus is the single most claimed VA disability, with more than 3.2 million veterans currently drawing compensation for it. Under Diagnostic Code 6260 it is rated at a flat 10 percent, and the rating does not change based on whether one or both ears are affected. Because the condition is subjective, no test can definitively prove or disprove it. A veteran generally needs evidence of loud-noise exposure during service along with a statement describing the symptoms, which makes tinnitus one of the more straightforward conditions to establish.
Hearing Loss: A Numbers-Driven Scale
Hearing loss is rated from 0 to 100 percent under Diagnostic Code 6100, though most veterans land at the low end. The VA uses a rigid mechanical process. A state-licensed audiologist administers the Maryland CNC speech discrimination test and a puretone audiometry test, both without hearing aids. The results feed into standardized tables that assign a Roman numeral from I to XI to each ear, and those numerals are cross-referenced on a third table to produce the final percentage. Lay testimony about how badly a veteran struggles to hear does not, on its own, change the outcome.
Knee Limitation of Flexion
Limitation of knee flexion is rated at 0, 10, 20, or 30 percent under Diagnostic Code 5260, with most veterans at 10 percent. The rating turns on measurable range of motion, which an examiner records with a goniometer during a Compensation and Pension exam. The VA also evaluates instability and functional loss from pain or flare-ups, and separate ratings for instability and limitation of motion can sometimes be combined for the same knee.
Back and Neck Conditions
Lumbosacral strain, cervical strain, degenerative disc disease, and related back conditions are all rated under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine in 38 CFR § 4.71a. The formula is built on range-of-motion measurements and the presence or absence of ankylosis, which is the fusion or complete immobility of a joint:
- 10 percent: forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine between roughly 60 and 85 degrees, or muscle spasm and tenderness that does not cause abnormal gait or spinal contour.
- 20 percent: forward flexion between 30 and 60 degrees, or muscle spasm severe enough to produce abnormal gait or spinal contour.
- 40 percent: forward flexion of 30 degrees or less, or favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.
- 50 percent: unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.
- 100 percent: unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine.
Intervertebral disc syndrome can alternatively be rated on total duration of incapacitating episodes (medically prescribed bed rest) over the previous twelve months, running from 10 percent for one to two weeks up to 60 percent for six or more weeks. The VA applies whichever formula produces the higher rating.
Limitation of Motion of the Arm
Limitation of arm motion is rated by measurable range of motion recorded during a C&P exam, following the same range-of-motion approach the VA applies to other joints. Ratings depend on how far the veteran can raise the arm and whether the dominant or non-dominant side is affected.
Scars and Burns
Scars are rated under Diagnostic Codes 7800 through 7805, depending on location and characteristics. Scars on the head, face, or neck can reach 80 percent when there is visible tissue loss with gross distortion of three or more facial features, or six or more defined “characteristics of disfigurement” such as length, width, texture abnormality, or adherence to underlying tissue. Scars elsewhere on the body are rated on total area affected. Painful or unstable scars are rated from 10 to 30 percent based on the number of qualifying scars, and separate ratings for the same scar are allowed when the symptoms are distinct.
Sciatic Nerve Paralysis
Radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve is rated under Diagnostic Code 8520, from 10 to 80 percent based on the severity of incomplete or complete paralysis. Clinical findings distinguish moderate (20 percent) from moderately severe (40 percent) and severe (60 percent), including motor function loss, muscle atrophy, and sensory disturbance. If the nerve involvement is purely sensory, the rating tops out at the moderate level. A 60 percent rating requires marked muscular atrophy, and 80 percent means complete paralysis with foot drop and loss of active muscle movement below the knee.
Limitation of Motion of the Ankle
Ankle limitation is another range-of-motion condition measured at a C&P exam, with the rating driven by how far the veteran can flex and extend the joint and by any functional loss from pain.
Migraines
Migraines are rated under Diagnostic Code 8100, with a schedular ceiling of 50 percent. The central concept is the “prostrating attack,” which the rating schedule does not precisely define but which courts and medical dictionaries describe as an episode producing extreme exhaustion or powerlessness:
- 0 percent: less frequent attacks.
- 10 percent: prostrating attacks averaging once every two months.
- 30 percent: prostrating attacks averaging once a month.
- 50 percent: very frequent, completely prostrating, and prolonged attacks producing severe economic inadaptability.
A 50 percent rating does not require proof that the veteran cannot work at all, only that the migraines are capable of producing severe difficulty functioning in the economic marketplace.
PTSD and Related Mental Health Conditions
PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions are all rated under the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in 38 CFR § 4.130. Ratings run from 0 to 100 percent, based on the degree of occupational and social impairment:
- 0 percent: a diagnosed condition exists, but symptoms are not severe enough to interfere with functioning or require continuous medication.
- 10 percent: mild or transient symptoms that reduce work efficiency only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by medication.
- 30 percent: occasional decrease in work efficiency with intermittent inability to perform tasks. Symptoms at this level include depressed mood, anxiety, chronic sleep impairment, and mild memory loss.
- 50 percent: reduced reliability and productivity, with symptoms such as flattened affect, panic attacks more than once a week, impaired memory and judgment, and difficulty maintaining work and social relationships.
- 70 percent: deficiencies in most areas of life, including suicidal ideation, near-continuous depression or panic, impaired impulse control, and inability to establish or maintain effective relationships.
- 100 percent: total occupational and social impairment, with symptoms such as persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of harming self or others, and disorientation to time or place.
For PTSD, the veteran needs evidence of a stressor experienced during military service. Lay statements, buddy letters, and medical records documenting the traumatic event all serve as supporting evidence. The VA evaluates not just the diagnosis but the frequency, duration, and intensity of symptoms and their real-world impact on daily life.
How the VA Combines Multiple Ratings
Most veterans on this list have more than one of these conditions, and the VA does not simply add the ratings together. It uses a method commonly called “VA math,” built on the principle that a person starts at 100 percent healthy and each disability reduces the remaining non-disabled portion rather than stacking on top of prior reductions.
In practice, the VA ranks all individual ratings from highest to lowest, then uses a combined ratings table. The highest rating and the next highest are cross-referenced on the table to produce a combined value, that value is then combined with the third-highest rating, and so on. The final number is rounded to the nearest 10 percent.
Two disabilities rated at 50 and 30 percent do not add up to 80. Using the table, the two produce a combined value of 65, which rounds to 70 percent. Fold in a third disability rated at 10 percent and the table yields 69, still rounding to 70. When disabilities affect paired extremities such as both knees, the VA adds a “bilateral factor” of 10 percent of the combined bilateral value before folding it into the overall calculation.
What Each Rating Pays in 2026
Disability compensation rates are adjusted annually for cost of living. Effective December 1, 2025, monthly payments for a veteran with no dependents are:
- 10 percent: $180.42
- 20 percent: $356.66
- 30 percent: $552.47
- 40 percent: $795.84
- 50 percent: $1,132.90
- 60 percent: $1,435.02
- 70 percent: $1,808.45
- 80 percent: $2,102.15
- 90 percent: $2,362.30
- 100 percent: $3,938.58
At 30 percent and above, rates increase with dependents. A veteran rated at 100 percent with a spouse receives $4,158.17 per month; with a spouse and two parents, $4,510.65.1U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans Disability Compensation Rates Rates at 10 and 20 percent do not change with dependents.
Compensation is tax-free. In fiscal year 2024, the VA paid roughly $163 billion in compensation to about 6.5 million veterans and survivors, and the program remains the largest one the Veterans Benefits Administration runs.