Did you know that tinnitus and hearing loss are two of the easiest injuries to claim for VA disability? More than 1.4 million military veterans receive disability compensation for hearing loss via the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — but what is the VA disability rating for hearing loss? This guide to service-connected hearing loss and disability ratings may help answer your questions.

How Does the VA Rate Hearing Loss for Veterans?

Members of our military are exposed to loud noises at many junctures of their careers — gunfire, explosions, jet engines, diesel engines, blast injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and more can have an impact on the hearing of our veterans. This regular exposure has led to many cases of hearing loss among our veterans, which impacts their day-to-day lives and can be claimed as a service-connected disability.

When veterans file a claim, they will receive a disability rating for the claimed injury, illness, or medical condition. Hearing loss can carry a disability rating that can range from 0% to 100% based on the severity of the hearing loss and potential treatment. The most common disability rating for hearing loss is 10%. A 0% disability rating indicates recognized hearing loss that does not have a significant impact on daily life based on testing. It is important to note that disability claims for hearing loss can be difficult to prove when the veteran has been out of the military for more than a year.

How To Calculate VA Disability Rates for Hearing Loss

The disability rating for veteran hearing loss is determined by testing that can include a Military Disability Examination (MDE) hearing test and an established grid chart that determines a disability rating based on Pure Tone Average (PTA), speech discrimination scores, and established Roman Numerals that coincide with disability ratings. The Pure Tone Average is the average hearing level in decibels at three different frequencies — 500 Hz, 1,000Hz, and 2,000 Hz. A speech discrimination score is evaluated by determining the percentage of correctly heard and repeated words on a comprehensive list. 

For example — a veteran has a Pure Tone Threshold Average (PTA) score of 55 dB with a speech discrimination score of 92%. This intersection point on the chart corresponds with a Roman Numeral I, which translates to a 10% disability rating.  

Types of Hearing Loss for Veterans

There are a lot of different factors that go into a hearing loss diagnosis for veterans. A veteran can have partial or total hearing loss, gradual or sudden hearing loss, and temporary or permanent hearing loss. In addition to those aspects of hearing loss, veterans can have unilateral hearing loss in one year or bilateral hearing loss in both ears. Veterans who have bilateral hearing loss will have the separate disability ratings combined for a single rating. 

When hearing loss is diagnosed, it is categorized into three main types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss involves different parts of the outer or middle year, sensorineural hearing loss is caused by an impairment of the inner ear, and mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural impairment. 

READ MORE: What Is the VA Disability Rating for Tinnitus? 

Are you a veteran who struggles with hearing loss? You may be eligible for disability benefits and you may want to know — what is the VA disability rating for hearing loss? We hope that this guide created by VA Benefits Attorneys has answered your questions.

Contact VA Benefits Attorneys today for more information on your disability claim and updated VA disability pay rates for 2026!