The VA rates hearing loss on a strict mathematical formula, not on how much your hearing bothers you. An audiologist runs two tests, the results feed into two tables in the regulations, and where the numbers meet is your VA hearing loss rating. That is why most veterans with real, documented hearing damage end up at 0% or 10%: the formula is built so that only significant impairment in both ears produces a compensable percentage. Understanding the math, and the one provision that can override it, is the difference between accepting a 0% and getting the rating your audiogram actually supports.
When Hearing Loss Qualifies as a Disability
Your hearing has to clear a threshold before the VA will rate it at all. Under 38 CFR 3.385, impaired hearing counts as a disability when any one of these is true: an auditory threshold of 40 decibels or higher at 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz; thresholds of 26 decibels or higher at three or more of those frequencies; or a speech recognition score below 94% on the Maryland CNC test.1eCFR. 38 CFR 3.385 – Disability Due to Impaired Hearing
Clearing that bar only means your hearing loss is ratable. Plenty of veterans meet the definition and still receive 0% once the formula runs.
How the VA Calculates Your Rating
The calculation is mechanical. A rater has no discretion to bump a percentage up because your hearing loss affects your job or your marriage. Two numbers from the C&P exam drive everything: the puretone threshold average (PTA) and the speech discrimination score.
The PTA is the average of your hearing thresholds at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz, measured in decibels. The speech discrimination score is the percentage of Maryland CNC words you correctly repeat back. Each ear is scored separately.
Step 1: Convert the Numbers to a Roman Numeral
Table VI in 38 CFR 4.85 turns your PTA and speech discrimination score for each ear into a Roman numeral from I (mildest) to XI (most severe). You find the row for your speech discrimination percentage and the column for your PTA; the cell where they meet is that ear’s Roman numeral.2eCFR. 38 CFR 4.85 – Evaluation of Hearing Impairment
Worked example. Right ear: PTA 56, speech discrimination 77%. Table VI gives Roman numeral IV. Left ear: PTA 43, speech discrimination 88%. Table VI gives Roman numeral II.
Step 2: Look Up the Percentage in Table VII
The two Roman numerals go into Table VII. One axis is the better ear, the other is the poorer ear. The intersection is your rating percentage. In the example above, II and IV meet at 0%. The hearing loss is service-connected, but non-compensable.2eCFR. 38 CFR 4.85 – Evaluation of Hearing Impairment
That outcome surprises most veterans, especially ones who wear hearing aids daily. The formula is calibrated so that mild-to-moderate loss in one or both ears produces 0% or 10%, and higher ratings require substantial bilateral loss. A 10% rating pays $180.42 per month.
The Exceptional Patterns Rule That Changes the Math
Two audiogram patterns qualify for an alternative calculation under 38 CFR 4.86. This is one of the most commonly missed provisions in hearing loss claims, and it can move a 0% to a compensable percentage.
The first pattern: a puretone threshold of 55 decibels or more at all four tested frequencies (1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz). When that applies, the rater uses either Table VI or Table VIa, whichever gives the higher Roman numeral.
The second pattern: a threshold of 30 decibels or less at 1000 Hertz but 70 decibels or more at 2000 Hertz. Same rule about picking the higher Roman numeral, and then the rater bumps that numeral up one additional level.3eCFR. 38 CFR 4.86 – Exceptional Patterns of Hearing Impairment
Table VIa uses the PTA only and ignores speech discrimination. That helps veterans whose audiogram shows severe loss on the tones but who still pick out enough words on the CNC test to be penalized under Table VI. If your audiogram matches either pattern, check the decision to confirm the rater actually applied 4.86. If they did not, that is a strong basis for a Higher-Level Review.
What Happens at the C&P Exam
The Compensation and Pension exam is what generates the numbers that go into the tables. A state-licensed audiologist performs a puretone audiometry test and a Maryland CNC speech discrimination test, both without hearing aids.2eCFR. 38 CFR 4.85 – Evaluation of Hearing Impairment
Subjective complaints about how hearing loss affects your daily life do not change the rating math. They matter for a claim of Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability and for secondary conditions, but the schedular hearing rating comes entirely from the two test results.
If a C&P examiner delivers a negative nexus opinion, a private audiologist can rebut it. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals has given substantial weight to private opinions where the audiologist critically reviewed the evidence, cited medical literature, and provided a credible rationale. In one case, a private audiologist referenced research showing that inner-ear damage occurs before it appears on a standard audiogram, which directly countered the VA examiner’s reasoning. The language matters: an opinion phrased as “more likely than not” or “at least as likely as not” meets the VA standard. “Could be related” or “possibly connected” carries almost no weight.
What a 0% Rating Is Actually Worth
A 0% rating means the VA has accepted service connection but the formula produced no compensable percentage. You get no monthly check, but the rating still opens real benefits: VA healthcare, travel pay reimbursement for approved medical appointments, dental and vision eligibility, and VA life insurance.4U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Non-Compensable Disability
For hearing loss specifically, the VA provides hearing aids at no cost to veterans with a 0% service-connected hearing disability as long as the loss contributes to reduced communication ability, and that includes batteries and replacements.5Department of Veterans Affairs. VHA Directive 2008-070 – Prescribing Hearing Aids and Eyeglasses On the civilian market that is a benefit worth thousands of dollars a pair.
Tinnitus Is Rated Separately
Tinnitus has its own diagnostic code, 6260, and its own flat 10% rating regardless of whether it affects one ear or both. That 10% is the maximum schedular rating for tinnitus, it does not go up based on severity, and it pays $180.42 per month as of December 2026.6U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Current Veterans Disability Compensation Rates Tinnitus requires its own service connection, but veterans who claim it alongside hearing loss usually have a straightforward path because both conditions trace back to the same noise exposure.
The VA has proposed eliminating the standalone tinnitus code and evaluating tinnitus only as a symptom of an underlying condition like hearing loss. Under the proposal, a 10% tinnitus evaluation would survive only when it accompanies non-compensable hearing loss. As of early 2026, the VA has paused implementation while it reviews public comments, and no final rule has been published. The current 10% standalone rating remains in effect.
When Bilateral Loss Is Severe: SMC-K
Veterans with severe bilateral hearing loss may qualify for Special Monthly Compensation at the K level, paid on top of standard disability compensation. SMC-K for deafness requires bilateral hearing loss equal to or exceeding the minimum loss required for the maximum rating under the schedule, with absence of air and bone conduction.7eCFR. 38 CFR 3.350 – Special Monthly Compensation Ratings The threshold is high, but the C&P exam should trigger a referral for SMC consideration when the audiogram supports it.2eCFR. 38 CFR 4.85 – Evaluation of Hearing Impairment
When Hearing Loss Costs You a Job: TDIU
If hearing loss is severe enough to prevent you from working but your schedular percentage falls below 100%, Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability pays at the 100% rate anyway. That is $3,938.58 per month for a single veteran with no dependents as of December 2026.6U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Current Veterans Disability Compensation Rates
The schedular gateways are a single service-connected disability rated at 60% or more, or multiple service-connected disabilities with at least one at 40% and a combined rating of 70% or more. Veterans who fall short can still be referred for extra-schedular consideration. The standard is that service-connected disabilities prevent you from securing or following substantially gainful employment, and the VA weighs your occupational history, education, and skills alongside your limitations.
If Your Rating Comes Back Too Low
Three review lanes are available if you disagree with the decision.8U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Decision Reviews and Appeals
- Supplemental Claim, filed with new and relevant evidence the VA did not have. This is the right lane when you have a private audiologist opinion, updated audiogram, or medical records that were not in the file.
- Higher-Level Review, where a senior rater reviews the existing evidence for errors. No new evidence, but this fits when the original rater misapplied the formula, skipped 38 CFR 4.86 despite an exceptional pattern, or overlooked evidence already in the record.
- Board of Veterans’ Appeals, where a Veterans Law Judge reviews the case. You can add evidence and request a hearing. It is the longest path and the most thorough.
For hearing loss specifically, the highest-yield move is often a Supplemental Claim built around a strong private nexus opinion, or a Higher-Level Review pointing to a missed application of the exceptional patterns rule. Either can turn a 0% into a compensable rating without restarting the claim from scratch.