VA Disability Ratings for Vertigo Under 38 CFR § 4.87: DC 6204

The VA disability rating for vertigo is either 10 percent or 30 percent under Diagnostic Code 6204 in 38 CFR § 4.87, with 30 percent reserved for dizziness accompanied by occasional staggering. If your vertigo is part of Meniere’s disease, a separate code opens ratings up to 100 percent. Which path applies, and how well your medical file documents it, is usually what decides whether you receive a couple hundred dollars a month or several times that.¹

The Two Rating Levels Under DC 6204

Diagnostic Code 6204 covers peripheral vestibular disorders, including benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and other inner-ear conditions that disrupt balance. The schedule is short:¹

30 percent for dizziness with occasional staggering.
10 percent for occasional dizziness alone.

There is no 50 or 100 percent option under this code. The ceiling is 30 percent, so the line between the two levels does most of the work. To reach 30 percent, your records must show that dizziness produces visible imbalance: trouble walking straight, needing to grab something for support, an unsteady gait during episodes. Dizziness without those observable effects will usually draw a 10 percent rating.

The Objective-Findings Requirement

A note under DC 6204 states that objective findings supporting a diagnosis of vestibular disequilibrium are required before any compensable rating can be assigned.¹ Your own report of feeling dizzy is not enough. A clinician has to document findings that confirm vestibular dysfunction. Common examples include nystagmus, abnormal balance testing, or imaging showing inner-ear pathology.

The same note directs the VA to rate hearing impairment or chronic ear discharge separately and combine those ratings with the vestibular rating.¹ If a single inner-ear condition causes both vertigo and hearing loss, each can be rated on its own.

Meniere’s Disease Opens a Higher Ceiling

When vertigo is part of Meniere’s disease (endolymphatic hydrops), the VA rates it under Diagnostic Code 6205 instead. The scale is much more generous:²

100 percent for hearing impairment with vertigo attacks and cerebellar gait occurring more than once weekly, with or without tinnitus.
60 percent for hearing impairment with vertigo attacks and cerebellar gait occurring one to four times a month, with or without tinnitus.
30 percent for hearing impairment with vertigo less than once a month, with or without tinnitus.

A regulatory note requires the VA to rate Meniere’s either as a single condition under DC 6205 or by separately rating vertigo, hearing impairment, and tinnitus, whichever method yields the higher combined rating.² You cannot use both methods at once. A 60 percent Meniere’s rating does not stack with a separate tinnitus rating. But if splitting the symptoms across DC 6204, the hearing-loss codes, and DC 6260 for tinnitus produces a higher total, that is the method the VA should use. Compare the two calculations before accepting any Meniere’s decision.

What the Payments Actually Look Like in 2026

The 2026 rates reflect a 2.8 percent cost-of-living increase that took effect in January. For DC 6204:³

10 percent, no dependents: $180.42 per month.
30 percent, no dependents: $552.47 per month.

Dependents matter starting at 30 percent. A 30 percent rating with a spouse pays $617.47 per month; add a child and it climbs to $666.47.³ At 10 percent, the payment stays flat no matter your family situation. Meniere’s ratings at 60 or 100 percent pay substantially more, and the 100 percent level opens eligibility for additional benefits like dependent educational assistance.

Proving Service Connection

Before any rating is assigned, you have to establish that the vestibular disorder is connected to service. That takes three things: a current medical diagnosis, evidence of an in-service event or injury that could have caused it, and a medical opinion linking the two.⁴

The nexus opinion is where most vertigo claims are decided. A physician must state that the current condition is at least as likely as not related to something that happened in service — the VA’s standard for a 50 percent or greater probability. Common in-service causes documented in these claims include head trauma, blast exposure, and prolonged high-decibel noise exposure.

Vertigo can also qualify as a secondary condition if it developed because of another service-connected disability. A veteran with a service-connected traumatic brain injury who later develops vertigo can file on that basis. The regulation requires that the secondary condition be proximately due to or the result of the primary service-connected disability, and it also allows compensation when a service-connected condition aggravates a pre-existing problem — though only for the degree of worsening beyond baseline.⁵

Evidence That Moves the Rating

Because DC 6204 requires objective findings, the strength of your medical file drives the outcome. The most important document is the Disability Benefits Questionnaire for Ear Conditions, which covers vestibular disorders and prompts the examiner to record the frequency and duration of episodes, whether staggering is present, and the results of objective testing.⁶ A DBQ that checks the right boxes lines your claim up directly with the rating criteria.

Beyond the DBQ, pull together private medical records, audiology reports, and any imaging that documents an inner-ear condition. Organize them chronologically so the progression is visible. A worsening trajectory strengthens the case for the higher rating.

VA Form 21-4138 lets you describe symptoms in your own words.⁷ Be specific. “I lose my balance and have to sit down immediately, which happens three or four times a week” is worth far more than “I get dizzy a lot.” Use dates when you can.

Buddy Statements

Other people cannot feel your dizziness, but they can see its effects. A spouse, coworker, or fellow veteran who has witnessed an episode can file a lay statement using VA Form 21-10210.⁸ A credible account of someone watching you stagger, grab a wall, or sit down suddenly corroborates the frequency and severity you have described in the medical records.

Private Nexus Letters

If a VA examiner returns an unfavorable nexus opinion, a private nexus letter from an independent physician can push back. These letters typically run between $1,000 and $3,000 depending on complexity and the specialist’s credentials. The cost is worth weighing when a favorable opinion is the one thing standing between you and approval, especially in secondary claims where the causal chain requires detailed medical reasoning.

The C&P Exam

After you file, the VA schedules a Compensation and Pension exam. The examiner uses the ear-conditions DBQ as the framework and performs clinical tests looking for objective signs of vestibular dysfunction, including the Romberg test that appears on the form itself.⁹

Expect pointed questions about how vertigo affects your work and daily tasks. Do not minimize. If you call out of work during bad episodes, cannot drive safely, or avoid activities because of fall risk, say so directly. The report goes to the rating official who decides your percentage, and that official knows only what the examiner writes down.

The VA also has a duty to assist. When your file shows a current condition, an in-service event, and a possible link, the VA is required to provide an exam or obtain a medical opinion.¹⁰

Combining Vertigo With Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

Many veterans with vestibular disorders also carry service-connected hearing loss, tinnitus, or TBI ratings. DC 6204 directs the VA to rate hearing impairment separately and combine it with the vestibular rating.¹ Tinnitus under DC 6260 can also be rated separately. Concurrent ratings for hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo do not violate the anti-pyramiding rule, because each represents a distinct functional impairment.

The anti-pyramiding rule in 38 CFR § 4.14 prohibits rating the same symptom under multiple codes.¹¹ You cannot receive a vertigo rating under both DC 6204 and DC 6205 for the same condition. But dizziness, hearing loss, and ringing in the ears are different symptoms, and separate ratings for each are allowed. Multiple ratings are combined using the VA’s combined ratings table, not simple addition.¹²

When Vertigo Is Severe Enough to Prevent Work

The 30 percent cap under DC 6204 frustrates veterans whose vertigo makes employment impossible. If your vestibular disorder, alone or combined with other service-connected conditions, prevents substantially gainful employment, you may qualify for Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability. TDIU pays at the 100 percent rate even though your combined schedular rating stays where it is.¹³

The standard thresholds:

One service-connected condition rated at 60 percent or more, or
At least one condition rated 40 percent or more with a combined rating of 70 percent or more.

A 30 percent vertigo rating by itself will not meet those thresholds. But a veteran with 30 percent for vertigo, 50 percent for hearing loss, and 10 percent for tinnitus could reach the combined range that qualifies, provided the evidence shows an inability to work. The VA can also grant TDIU below the thresholds in exceptional cases, such as those involving frequent hospitalizations.¹³

If the Claim Is Denied or Underrated

You have three appeal options, and each must be filed within one year of the decision letter.

Supplemental Claim on VA Form 20-0995, for submitting new and relevant evidence that was not in the file when the VA decided. This is the right path when you can get a stronger nexus opinion, an updated DBQ, or new balance-testing results.¹⁴
Higher-Level Review on VA Form 20-0996, where a senior reviewer re-examines the existing evidence for errors. No new evidence is allowed. Use this when you believe the rating official misapplied the criteria or ignored evidence already on file.¹⁵
Board Appeal on VA Form 10182, where a Veterans Law Judge reviews the case. You can choose direct review, submit additional evidence, or request a hearing.¹⁶

For vertigo, the Supplemental Claim is often the most productive route because the most common reason for a low rating is thin objective evidence, and that is fixable. New electronystagmography results, updated balance testing, or a more detailed DBQ can turn a 10 percent rating into 30 percent. Higher-Level Review fits better when the evidence is already strong but was weighed incorrectly.

Protecting Your Effective Date

The effective date sets when payments begin and controls the size of any back payment. As a general rule, it is the date the VA received your claim or the date you became entitled to the benefit, whichever is later.¹⁷

Filing an Intent to File on VA Form 21-0966 before your evidence is ready sets a potential effective date up to a year earlier than the completed claim. After filing the intent, you have 12 months to gather records, obtain a nexus opinion, and submit everything. If the claim is approved, payments can be backdated to the intent-to-file date rather than the date you submitted the finished paperwork.¹⁸ At the 30 percent level, that can mean more than $6,600 in retroactive pay. Filing the intent takes minutes and costs nothing, so file it as soon as you decide to pursue the claim.

1
eCFR. 38 CFR 4.87 Schedule of Ratings – Ear
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eCFR. 38 CFR 4.87 Schedule of Ratings – Ear
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Veterans Affairs. Veterans Disability Compensation Rates
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.303 Principles Relating to Service Connection
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.310 Disabilities That Are Proximately Due To, or Aggravated By, Service-Connected Disease or Injury
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Department of Veterans Affairs. Ear Conditions (Including Vestibular and Infectious Conditions) Disability Benefits Questionnaire
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Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 21-4138
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Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 21-10210
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U.S. Coast Guard. Ear Conditions (Including Vestibular and Infectious Conditions) Disability Benefits Questionnaire
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.159 Department of Veterans Affairs Assistance in Developing Claims
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eCFR. 38 CFR 4.14 Avoidance of Pyramiding
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eCFR. 38 CFR 4.25 Combined Ratings Table
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Veterans Affairs. Individual Unemployability If You Can’t Work
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Veterans Affairs. Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim
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Veterans Affairs. Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review
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Veterans Affairs. Board Appeals
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.400 General
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Veterans Affairs. Your Intent To File a VA Claim