Veterans experience many medical conditions at higher rates than their civilian counterparts due to the physical intensity of service required by military service. Many veterans experience musculoskeletal conditions and others experience issues with the auditory system, mental health disorders, and other physical and mental stressors. There are 5.2 million disabled veterans with over 25 million disabilities. It’s important to know the most common disabilities and how they are rated so you can get proper coverage and reimbursement from the insurance.

1. Tinnitus

Tinnitus refers to “ringing of the ears” or feeling like there is a ringing sensation in the ears. It is normally a symptom of an underlying condition, such as hearing loss, ear injury, or circulatory system disorder. The most common symptoms include phantom noises, or noises that don’t really exist, like ringing, buzzing, roaring, clicking, hissing and humming.

Auditory disturbances are most commonly due to the high level of loud noise exposure from gunfire, machinery, armored vehicles and aircraft, as well as other combat related noises. VA rates tinnitus at a 10 percent, and it is rare that veterans will receive higher than that on an extraschedular basis.

2. Bilateral Hearing Loss

Bilateral hearing loss involves muffling of speech and other sounds, difficulty understanding words, trouble hearing consultants, and frequently asking others to talk more slowly, repeat what they said, and to enunciate.

Bilateral hearing loss means a loss of hearing in both ears. It can be due to combat, loud noises, and other causes of damage to the auditory system of the ears and the brain. The VA rates hearing loss on severity using two auditory tests:

• speech discrimination – assess how well an individual understands words or what someone else is saying
• Pure tone threshold – indicates the softest sound audible to an individual at least 50% of the time. These tests must be complete in order to receive compensation for disability. Most veterans get a 10% disability rating for their service, although it is possible to get a 100% as well.

3. PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disorder that stems from experiencing a distressing, shocking or otherwise traumatic event. Almost 2 million veterans are service-connected for mental health conditions, with 1 million connected for PTSD specifically. Veterans must demonstrate a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service event that would serve as the stressor, and a nexus opinion linkin the current diagnosis of PTSD to the in-service event. Basically, you have to prove that you have PTSD and it is a direct result of time in the service.

Veterans will only receive one combined rating that accounts for their full level of impairment. Veterans are most commonly assigned a 70% rating for PTSD. Veterans can provide their own evidence demonstrating a need for a higher rating including testimony from friends and family, medical evidence, and expert opinion.

4. Scars

Veterans can receive service connection for scars that result from their time in the service or from service-connected conditions that require surgery, which is the more common occurrence. It is one of the most common service-related disabilities, but ratings are fairly low and getting a rating over 0% is pretty difficult. To qualify for 10% rating, veterans must have more than one or two scars that are painful and unstable.

5. Limited Knee Flexion

Knee conditions are very common among veterans. Limitation of flexion of the knee is just one type of knee condition that can be compensated. Specifically, limitation of flexion of the knee refers to the ability of the veteran to curl the lower leg towards the body and any restriction in that movement.

There is a graded rating that depends on the range of motion that exists when the veteran moves their knee. If extension is limited to 45 degrees, then compensation is 50% If extension is limited to 20 degrees then compensation is 20%. If flexion is limited to 5 degrees, then compensation is 0%. It is a musculoskeletal condition that almost 1.2 million service members are compensated for. The most common rating is 10%.

6. Lumbar and Cervical Strains

Back conditions are very common among Veterans. VA rates back conditions largely based on range of motion. Examiners will measure how far veterans can bend forwards and backwards, as well as side to side. The VA will determine the severity of any back injuries based on the range of motion measurements provided by the examiner.

Functional loss and pain should also be considered as increased flexibility means nothing if it is associated with extreme amount of pain for most of the window.

7. Paralysis of the Sciatic Nerve

Sciatica is a nerve condition where the pain radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve which is a long nerve from the lower back down through the legs. It happens when the sciatic nerve is pinched or compressed, normally by a herniated disc or an overgrowth of the bone on the vertebrae of the spine. Sciatic typically affects one side of the body and include symptoms such as numbness, tingling, burning sensation and muscle weakness.

This condition is commonly associated with back and neck issues, so when rating those, veterans do not need to file an additional claim for sciatica. It will already be included. Nerve issues are rated according to severity and classified based on paralysis, neuritis (inflammation of the nerve) and neuralgia (altered sensation). Paralysis is rated based on severity of the paralysis, ranging from incomplete but mild paralysis to complete paralysis.

8. Limited Ankle Motion

Limited ankle motion is common among veterans. It normally develops after an ankle sprain that wasn’t rehabilitated completely or correctly. An unhealed ankle sprain increases the likelihood of another ankle sprain occuring in the future. Repeated ankle sprains often cause perpetual ankle instability and limited motion.

Veterans may suffer from limited motion of the ankle due to the physical demands of military service. Veterans engage in fitness- related activities and jobs that require physical exertion while serving. Activities and jobs may have led to ankle sprains and injuries throughout service, thereby leading to issues later on.

Veterans normally receive a 10 or 20 percent disability rating for limitation of motion of the ankle. A 10 percent rating consists of moderate symptomatology while a 20 percent rating consists of marked conditions. These criteria are not well defined, which can give veterans more space to negotiate and appeal for increased ratings.

It’s important to be aware of your disabilities and their ratings so you can be properly compensated. If any of these disabilities result in severe impairment where you require assistance in your day to day activities, then please contact Diverse Health Services. We offer many benefits and assistance, including home health, activities of daily living, and more.

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