Rating guide · Hearing
Hearing Loss: The Audiogram Decides
Gunnery ranges, flight lines, engine rooms and the foundry and machine shops at Rock Island Arsenal all take a toll on the ears. With hearing loss, the rater has almost no judgment to apply: your test scores run through two VA tables and the percentage comes out the other side.
- What the exam needs
- Scores to percentage
- Unusual hearing patterns
- Why 0% still helps
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Requirements for a Valid Hearing Exam
- Given by an audiologist licensed by a state
- Taken with hearing aids out
- Uses the Maryland CNC word list for speech recognition
- Includes a puretone threshold test
A free screening at a hearing aid store almost never checks every box. Before the VA rates anything, your hearing also has to meet its definition of a disability under 38 CFR 3.385: a threshold of 40 dB or worse at any of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000 Hz, 26 dB or worse at three of them, or a speech score under 94%.
How the Tables Work
For each ear, the VA averages your thresholds at 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz. That average, paired with your speech recognition score, places the ear at a Roman numeral between I and XI. A second table cross-references the two ears’ numerals to give the percentage.
Unusual patterns (38 CFR 4.86)
- All four frequencies at 55 dB or worse: the rater may use either table and takes the higher numeral.
- 1000 Hz at 30 dB or better while 2000 Hz is 70 dB or worse: the higher numeral is chosen, then raised one step.
Noise history matters for the link to service. If you also worked around loud equipment as a civilian, for example at the Arsenal’s manufacturing center after discharge, expect the examiner to ask. Records of in-service noise exposure and early hearing tests help keep the focus on your military years.
Don’t Shrug Off a 0% Rating
Zero percent still means the VA has accepted your hearing loss as service-connected. Hearing tends to decline with age, and when it does, a later claim only has to show the change. The same noise history also backs up a tinnitus claim, and service connection can matter for VA hearing aids and other care.
Hearing Loss VA Rating: Common Questions
I clearly have hearing loss. Why is it 0%?
The percentage comes straight from the VA tables, and plenty of real, service-connected hearing loss falls under the first compensable level.
Will the VA accept a test from my own audiologist?
Yes, if the audiologist is state-licensed and the test uses the Maryland CNC speech list and puretone audiometry, done without hearing aids.
Should I bring my hearing aids to the exam?
Bring them if you like, but the test itself is done with them out.
Can I ask for a higher rating later?
Yes. Once the loss is service-connected you can file for an increase, and a new exam will measure your hearing as it is now.
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