VA Disability for HM Hospital Corpsman: Common Conditions & Presumptives

VA Disability for HM (Hospital Corpsman)

Navy HM (Hospital Corpsman) is a job that typically involved hazardous noise, blast and overpressure, combat and traumatic stress, and heavy loads and impact. That pattern is why veterans who held it commonly claim conditions like PTSD, tinnitus, back or neck strain, and limited knee flexion. This page covers the general pattern for the job, not your record.

Typical exposures for HM

These are the general hazards that came with the job. Your own exposure depends on your units, deployments, and duties.

Hazardous noise
Weapons fire, engines, aircraft, generators, or machinery at levels linked to tinnitus and hearing loss.
Blast and overpressure
Explosions, artillery, breaching, and demolitions. Repeated blast exposure is tied to concussion, headaches, and hearing damage.
Combat and traumatic stress
Firefights, casualties, mass-casualty care, and sustained threat, the kind of experience behind PTSD and depression claims.
Heavy loads and impact
Rucks, body armor, lifting, carrying patients or ammunition, and hard landings that wear on the back, knees, and feet.
Burn pits and airborne hazards
Smoke and fine particulate from open-air burn pits, dust, and sand during Southwest Asia and post-9/11 deployments. About this exposure →
Bloodborne pathogens and clinical hazards
Needlesticks, blood and body fluids, infectious disease, latex, and disinfectants in medical work.

Conditions commonly associated with HM

Veterans who held this job commonly claim the conditions below. Each still needs a current diagnosis and evidence linking it to your service.

PTSDDC 9411Frequently claimed
Combat casualty care with Marines (FMF), trauma exposure
TinnitusDC 6260Frequently claimed
Attached to Marine infantry units, combat fire
Lumbosacral/cervical strainDC 5237Frequently claimed
Patient carries, medical bag plus combat load
Knee, limitation of flexionDC 5260Frequently claimed
Running to casualties, kneeling to treat
Major depressive disorderDC 9434Frequently claimed
Treating fatal injuries, moral injury, death exposure
Hearing lossDC 6100Also commonly claimed
Combat exposure when attached to ground units
Ankle, limited motionDC 5271Also commonly claimed
Uneven terrain, ruck marches, and obstacle-course training throughout service
Foot injuries, otherDC 5284Also commonly claimed
Boots, marching, long days on feet, cumulative across any military role
Eczema/dermatitisDC 7806Sometimes claimed
Latex, cleaning chemicals, field sanitation

PACT Act presumptives for HM veterans

Many Sailors in this job deployed to Southwest Asia or the post-9/11 theater. Under the PACT Act, the presumption is based on where and when you served, not on your job title. It covers Gulf War service on or after August 2, 1990 in places such as Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the United Arab Emirates, and post-9/11 service on or after September 11, 2001 in places such as Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

If you served in a qualifying location and are later diagnosed, the VA treats certain conditions as presumed service-connected, so you do not have to prove the exposure caused them. The list includes asthma diagnosed after service, chronic bronchitis, COPD, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, constrictive bronchiolitis, and a range of cancers. Holding this job does not by itself mean you have any of them.

Full PACT Act burn pit list and locations → Gulf War Illness →

Earlier eras carry their own location-based presumptives, such as Agent Orange and Camp Lejeune water contamination.

This is the general pattern, not your claim. Most veterans held more than one job, served at specific bases, and worked specific aircraft or ships. Which conditions fit you, how they combine, and what they rate together depends on that full record.

Get your version in the app

See your personalized Claim Intel, your exact conditions merged across every MOS you held, your specific exposures cross-referenced, and your combined rating in the app. The combined-rating calculator is free with no account. Claim Intel is part of VA Ready Pro.

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Common questions

Does the VA have a list of conditions for HM?

No. The VA does not keep a list of disabilities by MOS, AFSC, or rating. It decides each claim on your own service records, medical evidence, and exam. What a job typically exposed people to can help explain how a condition started, which is why knowing the pattern for HM Hospital Corpsman is useful.

What conditions do HM veterans commonly claim?

Veterans who served as Navy HM (Hospital Corpsman) commonly claim conditions such as PTSD, tinnitus, back or neck strain, limited knee flexion, depression, and hearing loss. Each one still needs its own diagnosis and a link to service.

Are HM veterans covered by the PACT Act?

The PACT Act presumptions are based on where and when you served, not on your job. If you served in a qualifying Gulf War or post-9/11 location, certain respiratory conditions and cancers are presumed service-connected.

Other Navy jobs

This page is for general informational purposes only and is not legal or medical advice. It describes what a job typically involved, not what any one veteran experienced, and the VA does not keep a list of conditions by MOS, AFSC, or rating. The VA decides service connection and ratings from your own records, evidence, and exam. VA Ready is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. For free help filing, work with a VA-accredited VSO.