Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This section contains criteria for ear conditions, including recurrent tinnitus and certain vestibular and ear diseases. Each code addresses a particular disability picture and may include important combination instructions.
Tinnitus and hearing loss are different rating questions. Other ear conditions may involve balance symptoms, infection, or additional findings, so it is important to identify the actual diagnosis and code in the decision.
How this helps your claim
This helps you separate the symptoms and findings VA evaluated. Read the notes for the relevant condition rather than transferring a rule from one ear diagnosis to another.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Find the ear diagnosis and diagnostic code used in the decision.
- Compare the documented symptoms and examination findings with that code.
- Check any instructions about separate or overlapping evaluations.
Separate tinnitus, hearing and balance findings
Ear conditions can affect several functions, including hearing, balance and the perception of sound. Identify the actual diagnosis and the symptoms attributed to it. A single complaint of dizziness or ringing should not be used to assume every ear-related code applies.
Read the selected code's notes about separate or combined evaluations. Some findings can overlap within one disability picture, while others raise distinct questions. Keeping the clinical diagnosis and functional effects clear makes the decision's choice of criteria easier to understand.
Does tinnitus use the same percentage tables as hearing loss?
No. Recurrent tinnitus and measured hearing impairment are evaluated under different provisions. They can appear in the same medical history without using the same calculation. Check the code for each issue and its applicable combination instructions rather than treating all ear symptoms as hearing-loss scores.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 4.87
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
Jump to a diagnostic code (11)
- 6200 Chronic suppurative otitis media, mastoiditis, or cholesteatoma (or any combination):
- 6201 Chronic nonsuppurative otitis media with effusion (serous otitis media):
- 6202 Otosclerosis:
- 6204 Peripheral vestibular disorders:
- 6205 Meniere's syndrome (endolymphatic hydrops):
- 6207 Loss of auricle:
- 6208 Malignant neoplasm of the ear (other than skin only)
- 6209 Benign neoplasms of the ear (other than skin only):
- 6210 Chronic otitis externa:
- 6211 Tympanic membrane, perforation of
- 6260 Tinnitus, recurrent
§ 4.87 Schedule of ratings—ear.
Diseases of the Ear
Scroll sideways to see the full table.
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| 6200 Chronic suppurative otitis media, mastoiditis, or cholesteatoma (or any combination): | |
| During suppuration, or with aural polyps | 10 |
| Note: Evaluate hearing impairment, and complications such as labyrinthitis, tinnitus, facial nerve paralysis, or bone loss of skull, separately. | |
| 6201 Chronic nonsuppurative otitis media with effusion (serous otitis media): | |
| Rate hearing impairment | |
| 6202 Otosclerosis: | |
| Rate hearing impairment | |
| 6204 Peripheral vestibular disorders: | |
| Dizziness and occasional staggering | 30 |
| Occasional dizziness | 10 |
| Note: Objective findings supporting the diagnosis of vestibular disequilibrium are required before a compensable evaluation can be assigned under this code. Hearing impairment or suppuration shall be separately rated and combined. | |
| 6205 Meniere's syndrome (endolymphatic hydrops): | |
| Hearing impairment with attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring more than once weekly, with or without tinnitus | 100 |
| Hearing impairment with attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring from one to four times a month, with or without tinnitus | 60 |
| Hearing impairment with vertigo less than once a month, with or without tinnitus | 30 |
| Note: Evaluate Meniere's syndrome either under these criteria or by separately evaluating vertigo (as a peripheral vestibular disorder), hearing impairment, and tinnitus, whichever method results in a higher overall evaluation. But do not combine an evaluation for hearing impairment, tinnitus, or vertigo with an evaluation under diagnostic code 6205. | |
| 6207 Loss of auricle: | |
| Complete loss of both | 50 |
| Complete loss of one | 30 |
| Deformity of one, with loss of one-third or more of the substance | 10 |
| 6208 Malignant neoplasm of the ear (other than skin only) | 100 |
| Note: A rating of 100 percent shall continue beyond the cessation of any surgical, radiation treatment, antineoplastic chemotherapy or other therapeutic procedure. Six months after discontinuance of such treatment, the appropriate disability rating shall be determined by mandatory VA examination. Any change in evaluation based on that or any subsequent examination shall be subject to the provisions of § 3.105(e) of this chapter. If there has been no local recurrence or metastasis, rate on residuals. | |
| 6209 Benign neoplasms of the ear (other than skin only): | |
| Rate on impairment of function. | |
| 6210 Chronic otitis externa: | |
| Swelling, dry and scaly or serous discharge, and itching requiring frequent and prolonged treatment | 10 |
| 6211 Tympanic membrane, perforation of | 0 |
| 6260 Tinnitus, recurrent | 10 |
| Note (1): A separate evaluation for tinnitus may be combined with an evaluation under diagnostic codes 6100, 6200, 6204, or other diagnostic code, except when tinnitus supports an evaluation under one of those diagnostic codes. | |
| Note (2): Assign only a single evaluation for recurrent tinnitus, whether the sound is perceived in one ear, both ears, or in the head. | |
| Note (3): Do not evaluate objective tinnitus (in which the sound is audible to other people and has a definable cause that may or may not be pathologic) under this diagnostic code, but evaluate it as part of any underlying condition causing it. |
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155)
[64 FR 25210, May 11, 1999, as amended at 68 FR 25823, May 14, 2003]
Related references
- 38 CFR § 3.105: VA decision revision, CUE, and rating reductions
- 38 USC § 1155: The law behind VA disability rating percentages
- 38 CFR § 4.1: What a VA disability rating measures
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
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