VA Disability Rating for Hearing Loss (DC 6100)

VA Disability Rating for Hearing Loss

Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is rated from a table that combines your audiogram results and speech-recognition scores.

Diagnostic code 6100 · § 4.85-4.87 · Ear · up to 100%

How the VA rates Hearing Loss

The VA assigns one of these ratings for Hearing loss, bilateral sensorineural, based on the severity of your condition. These criteria are summarized from § 4.85-4.87:

Rating	When it applies
100%	Total deafness in both ears, or hearing loss so severe that speech discrimination is untestable. Maximum schedular rating for bilateral hearing loss.
80%	Near-total hearing loss bilaterally. Puretone threshold averages typically above 80 dB with very poor speech discrimination.
70%	Profound hearing loss in both ears resulting in a 70% rating. Speech discrimination scores typically below 50% in both ears.
60%	Severe-to-profound bilateral hearing loss. Roman numeral designations from Table VI or Table VIA (exceptional patterns) produce a 60% rating under Table VII.
50%	Severe hearing loss in both ears producing Roman numeral designations that result in a 50% rating under Table VII. May qualify for exceptional patterns of hearing impairment under § 4.86.
40%	Significant hearing loss producing Roman numeral designations that result in a 40% rating under Table VII. Typical of moderate-to-severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
30%	Hearing loss with puretone thresholds and speech discrimination producing Roman numeral designations that yield a 30% rating under Table VII (e.g., Level VI and Level IV, or Level V and Level V).
20%	More severe hearing loss producing higher Roman numeral designations under Table VI that result in a 20% rating under Table VII (e.g., Level V in one ear and Level III in the other).
10%	Hearing loss where the combination of puretone threshold averages and speech recognition scores from Table VI produce Roman numeral designations that result in a 10% rating under Table VII (e.g., Level II in one ear and Level II in the other, or Level III and Level II).
0%	Hearing loss that does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under Table VI and Table VII. Puretone threshold average and speech discrimination scores result in a numeric designation that produces a 0% rating when cross-referenced.

Good to know

VA hearing loss ratings are based on audiometric testing results using 38 CFR § 4.85 Table VI (or Table VIA for exceptional patterns under § 4.86) and Table VII. The rating is mechanical — it is determined by puretone threshold averages at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz and Maryland CNC speech recognition scores. Get a current audiogram before filing.

Conditions commonly connected to Hearing Loss

Hearing Loss is frequently claimed alongside, or as a secondary to, these conditions. If you have any of them, they may be separately ratable:

TinnitusVertigo/vestibular disorderDepression secondary to hearing lossSocial isolation

How to strengthen a Hearing Loss claim

The rating you receive depends almost entirely on your evidence and your C&P exam. To put your best claim forward:

Get a current diagnosis and make sure your symptoms are documented at their worst, not your best day.
Prepare for your C&P exam — the examiner's report usually decides your rating.
If service connection isn't obvious, a nexus letter can link the condition to your service.
If this condition was caused by another rated condition, file it as a secondary claim.

Peer-Reviewed Research on Hearing Loss

15 peer-reviewed studies linked to Hearing Loss (diagnostic code 6100) in the VA Ready app, sourced from PubMed and the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Every citation is real and links to the source — bring them to your C&P exam or hand them to your VSO.

Meta-analysisPrimary2025
The benefit of bilateral cochlear implants in adults with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Cochlear Implants Int · 2025
- Bilateral cochlear implants produced statistically significant speech-perception gains over unilateral implantation (12.6 percentage points in quiet; 1.5 dB SNR improvement in noise).
- Hearing-specific quality of life improved significantly, while generic quality-of-life measures were mostly unchanged.
Why it matters: Provides treatment-outcome evidence for severe-to-profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (DC 6100), while showing generic QoL often remains unchanged despite audiologic benefit.
View on PubMed ↗
Cross-sectionalPrimary2024
Blast Exposure Associations With Hearing Loss and Self-Reported Hearing Difficulty.
Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2024
- Blast exposure is independently associated with measured hearing loss and with self-reported hearing difficulty
- Effects persist after adjusting for occupational noise and age
- Self-reported hearing difficulty captures functional deficits not always reflected on the audiogram
Why it matters: Directly supports service-connection for hearing loss under DC 6100 in veterans with documented blast exposure, including those whose hearing complaints exceed audiogram findings.
View on PubMed ↗
Cohort studyPrimary2024
Long-Term Hearing Loss after Acute Acoustic Trauma in the French Military: A Retrospective Study.
Military medicine · 2024
- Acute acoustic trauma during military service frequently produces persistent long-term hearing loss
- High-frequency thresholds remain elevated years after the initial injury
- Documents the chronicity of military acoustic trauma even with prompt care
Why it matters: Supports VA claims that a single in-service acoustic-trauma event (e.g., weapons fire, explosions) can produce permanent ratable hearing loss decades later under DC 6100.
View on PubMed ↗
Cohort studyPrimary2024
Hearing Loss Prevalence, Years Lived With Disability, and Hearing Aid Use in the United States From 1990 to 2019: Findings From the Global Burden of Disease Study.
Ear and hearing · 2024
- Hearing loss prevalence and years lived with disability rose substantially in the US from 1990 to 2019
- Hearing-aid utilization remains low relative to need
- Provides national benchmarks against which veteran hearing-loss prevalence can be compared
Why it matters: Provides population-level context VSOs can use to demonstrate that veteran hearing loss prevalence exceeds general-population baselines, strengthening service-connection arguments under DC 6100.
View on PubMed ↗
Cross-sectionalPrimary2023
The influence of tinnitus and hearing loss on the functional status of military Service members and Veterans.
International journal of audiology · 2023
- Both tinnitus and hearing loss independently degrade functional health status in service members and veterans
- Combined tinnitus + hearing loss produces the largest functional impact
- Quantifies impairment using validated functional-status instruments
Why it matters: Evidence VSOs can use to substantiate occupational and social impact of hearing loss / tinnitus combinations during VA functional-impairment evaluations under DC 6100/6260.
View on PubMed ↗
Cohort studyPrimary2021
The Relationship Between Blast-related Hearing Threshold Shift and Insomnia in U.S. Military Personnel.
Military medicine · 2021
- Blast-related hearing threshold shift is associated with increased risk of insomnia
- Demonstrates downstream secondary effects of service-connected hearing loss
- Highlights need to screen for sleep disturbance in blast-exposed personnel
Why it matters: Supports secondary service-connection arguments linking DC 6100 hearing loss to claimed insomnia or sleep disorders in veterans with blast exposure.
View on PubMed ↗
Cross-sectionalPrimary2017
Audiologic characteristics in a sample of recently-separated military Veterans: The Noise Outcomes in Servicemembers Epidemiology Study (NOISE Study).
Hearing research · 2017
- Documents high prevalence of audiometric abnormalities in recently separated veterans, often with normal pure-tone averages
- High-frequency hearing loss and abnormal otoacoustic emissions common despite 'normal' clinical hearing tests
- Establishes baseline audiologic profile of the post-9/11 veteran population
Why it matters: Supports claims by veterans whose VA C&P audiograms appear borderline-normal yet who exhibit high-frequency or supra-threshold deficits consistent with military noise exposure.
View on PubMed ↗
Cohort studyPrimary2017
Prevalence of hearing loss and tinnitus in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans: A Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium study.
Hear Res · 2017
- Among Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans, 7.78% had hearing loss alone, 6.54% tinnitus alone, and 6.24% had both hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Comorbid TBI, PTSD, and depression were each significantly associated with increased rates of hearing loss, tinnitus, or both.
- Older individuals, males, and those with TBI, PTSD, or vertigo/dizziness were significantly more likely to have hearing loss.
Why it matters: Directly documents post-deployment hearing-loss prevalence and its clustering with TBI, PTSD, and tinnitus in the veteran population most relevant to DC 6100 service-connection.
View on PubMed ↗
Meta-analysisSupporting2024
Adult-onset hearing loss and incident cognitive impairment and dementia - A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.
Ageing Res Rev · 2024
- Adult-onset hearing loss was associated with increased risk of incident dementia (HR 1.35), mild cognitive impairment (HR 1.29), and Alzheimer's disease dementia (HR 1.56).
- Each 10-decibel worsening of hearing was associated with a 16% increase in dementia risk, showing a dose-response relationship.
Why it matters: Establishes hearing loss as a dose-dependent risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, a major secondary-condition and functional-impact consideration for DC 6100.
View on PubMed ↗
Systematic reviewSupporting2024
Association of hearing loss and risk of depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Front Neurol · 2024
- Hearing loss was associated with an increased risk of depression (OR 1.35), with older adults at higher risk (OR 1.33).
- The depression risk was higher in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (OR 1.62) than non-SSNHL and increased with follow-up of 5+ years.
Why it matters: Confirms hearing loss, including sensorineural subtypes, as an independent prospective risk factor for depression relevant to secondary mental-health claims under DC 6100.
View on PubMed ↗
Randomized trialSupporting2024
A Hearing Intervention and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Randomized Clinical Trial.
JAMA Netw Open · 2024
- Over 3 years, a hearing intervention (hearing aids plus audiologic counseling) had no significant association with physical or mental health-related quality of life versus a health-education control.
- Differences were small and non-significant for both physical (0.43) and mental (0.47) HRQoL components.
Why it matters: Shows that even with treatment, hearing loss can persist in its impact on general quality of life, underscoring the durable functional burden of the condition relevant to DC 6100 severity assessment.
View on PubMed ↗
Meta-analysisSupporting2023
Emerging Relations among Cognitive Constructs and Cochlear Implant Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · 2023
- Only about half (50.8%) of reported outcomes showed cochlear implantation significantly improved cognition, with the strongest effects in memory/learning and inhibition-concentration.
- Meta-analysis confirmed significant improvements in global cognition and inhibition-concentration after implantation.
Why it matters: Links treatment of severe sensorineural hearing loss to cognitive outcomes, reinforcing the bidirectional cognition-hearing relationship pertinent to DC 6100 functional impact.
View on PubMed ↗
Meta-analysisSupporting2020
Hearing Loss and Depression in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Gerontologist · 2020
- Hearing loss was associated with significantly greater odds of depression in older adults (OR 1.47).
- The association held in both cross-sectional (OR 1.54) and cohort (OR 1.39) designs with no significant difference between them, and hearing-aid use did not significantly moderate the effect.
Why it matters: Demonstrates a robust link between hearing loss and depression, supporting mental-health secondary conditions frequently co-claimed with DC 6100.
View on PubMed ↗
Meta-analysisSupporting2016
Hearing loss and falls: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Laryngoscope · 2016
- Older adults with hearing loss had 2.39 times greater odds of falling than those with normal hearing.
- Restricting to audiometrically-defined hearing loss still showed a 69% increase in falls odds (OR 1.69), robust to multivariate adjustment (OR 1.72).
Why it matters: Demonstrates that hearing loss meaningfully increases fall risk, a functional-impairment and safety consequence relevant to the disability impact of DC 6100.
View on PubMed ↗
Cohort studySupporting2009
Hearing loss in veterans and the need for hearing loss prevention programs.
Noise Health · 2009
- More than 445,000 veterans were receiving compensation for service-related hearing loss and 395,000 for service-related tinnitus at the time of writing.
- Service-related hearing disorders impose substantial VA costs beyond compensation, including hearing aids and clinical services across 220 facilities.
Why it matters: Quantifies the scale of service-connected hearing loss in the VA system and the rationale for prevention, contextualizing DC 6100 as one of the most-claimed conditions.
View on PubMed ↗

Citations are provided for general educational use and are not medical advice. The VA Ready app pairs every study with its key findings and a one-tap Claim Summary PDF appendix.

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Common questions

What is the VA rating for Hearing Loss?

The VA rates Hearing loss, bilateral sensorineural under diagnostic code 6100 (§ 4.85-4.87). Ratings run up to 100%, assigned from the criteria in the table above based on the severity of your condition.

What diagnostic code does the VA use for Hearing Loss?

Diagnostic code 6100, rated under § 4.85-4.87 of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities.

Can Hearing Loss be claimed as a secondary condition?

Yes. Hearing Loss is commonly connected to conditions like Tinnitus, Vertigo/vestibular disorder, Depression secondary to hearing loss. A secondary claim needs a medical nexus linking it to your service-connected condition.

This page is for general informational purposes only and is not legal or medical advice. Rating criteria are summarized from 38 CFR Part 4; the VA determines actual ratings based on your evidence and exam. VA Ready is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Always verify current criteria at VA.gov and consult a VA-accredited representative.