VA Hearing Loss Compensation & Service Connection | What You NEED To Know!

Dr. Cliff Olson, Marine Veteran and Audiologist, discusses what you need to know about receiving hearing loss compensation and service connection from the VA (Veterans Administration).

What is Hearing Disability Compensation? Basically, it is a monetary benefit paid to veterans who incurred or aggravated a hearing related disability while on active military service.

What do you need to know?

2. You should find a Local VA Accredited Representative to help with your claim.
You can find one :
Call: 1-888-777-4443
Contact your VA Regional Benefit Office

3. You will need to file a claim. You can do this through:
A VA Accredited Representative
You can fax the form to [phone] (inside the U.S.) [phone] (outside the U.S.) or Mail it to:
Department of Veterans Affairs
Claims Intake Center
PO Box 4444
Janesville, WI 53547-4444

4. You will need a Hearing Evaluation. This is comprised of a Full Case History and a Comprehensive Hearing Test. This is also when you want to provide them with additional evidence of your service connected disability.

Side note: Don't try and fake a hearing loss. The audiologist will know, you'll embarrass yourself, and you will be delaying other veterans who actually have a service connected hearing loss.

Once the exam is complete, they will not review the results with you. You will have to wait until your case is reviewed. There is no specific timetable for your rating.

[DrCliffAuD]

Still have questions about VA Hearing Loss Compensation? Let me know!

[ruten]

Process for compensation was the first place I went. Mine was from jet aircraft engines as well as the 50 caliber and 30 caliber weapons. The doctor I first went to was totally denying my claim. I finally got a different Doctor and she agreed that it happened while I was in the military. She asked me several questions and said I had a considerable hearing loss and the screaming ringing in my ears sounded like a T-37 scream inside my head. I got my rating for both hearing loss and tinnitus. Thank God I have found that while my hearing aides are in my ears the ringing is gone. It wakes me up at night sometimes.

[letscallthehogs]

Dr. Cliff,
I was tested for Tinnitus, but was told I do not have. I asked the audiologist did she hear the ringing in my ears, she said no. I then asked her how she could determine I didn't have tinnitus. I received no answer. I worked around aircraft for 27 years. The VA is not your friend

[jackiecarter]

Well I received my 10% VA rating for tinnitus back in 2017 and its primarily based on your MOS. I am artillery so it was pretty straightforward. There is a document that does the service connection for you.

[JP-rfpx]

I was an 84D20 audio specialist at Ft Myer in Virginia. We set up large sound and recording systems for reviews that had to cover whole parade fields. The ceremonies sometimes included howitzer salutes by the Third Infantry ceremonial unit, and the US Army Field Band.Things got rather loud sometimes. This was 1969-71. But if you are an E5 and at the controls of General Westmorland's or Sec of the Army Stanley Resor's mike, you probably don't want them to see you are wearing earplugs!

After service I worked as a recording engineer, and later owned a sound company for 24 years. So I have depended on my ears working well for my livelihood all my life. I now have constant tinnitus in both ears and, by my own simple testing, hearing loss above 7-8kHz and probably midrange loss of consonants of speech. Going to VA hearing test in April. Can they fit me with hearing aids that will correctly compensate me for losses at various frequencies to give me accurate hearing? I am still asked to mix sound for local theater productions but am not confident I can accurately do that?

[kennethhumphrey]

Hello Dr. Cliff Olson, I listened 3:47 and you suggested filing a V.A. 21-526EZ, going a VSO person you also mentioned getting checked by a V.A. examiner . Most Veterans get denied, because of no current medical diagnosis for their claim.Most V.A. Doctors/Examiners and especially C&P Examiners gives a rats behind about us Veterans and definely are not in our best interest, but rather the V.A. .A Veteran needs a current diagnosis for their claim and the correct doctors who is specialized in that area, or an medical internist professional, or not?A 21-4138 should also be written, explaining briefly how their condition is service connected, how the condition affects their daily life"family, relationships and ability to work and maintain a job, any limitations and how severe it is.Too many of us are being deceived and lied to continually .

[jaybeauvais]

What I have learned in this compensation and health care process, that there are a lot of people and entities that make money at the veterans expense, form the dark dingy doctors office that looks like a back alley abortion clinic, the middle man contract scheduler (VES, QTC), to people who run taxi or shuttle service for the veteran to and from appointments. Everyone benefits except the guy or gal living with issues every day.

[joenop]

5:45 You can also request an increase for the Service-Connected disability of "0" later on a 526ez due to it getting worse.

[robertmccabe]

I just had mine done Last month and I was told Yes i do have Hearing Loss in both Ears and Left ear is Worse then Right the person doing it told me she will send that report to The VBA with those results

[craigslistsales]

Dr Cliff I was in the USCG on a buoy tender. I worked around heavy hydraulic equipment outboard motors diesel engines pneumatic power tools without hearing protection I have moderate tinnitus and going to be tested for hearing loss and tinnitus by both a private audiologist and the c&p. I have a very difficult time hearing conversation going back to 1988 always asking people to repeat themselves etc. if I am in a meeting I have to sit with my right ear towards the speaker or I won't hear everything I favor my right ear
a lot. I am afraid the VA is going to deny me due to being out of the service to long and old age (52)

[frankruss]

This video was of great help to me, to get me on the right path. Thank you.

[kartgal]

As an audiologist, I just wanted to say: PLEASE do not fake or exaggerate a hearing loss. We can tell that your exaggerating immediately. This is what we do for a living; we do it all day, every day. If you have a bit of a hearing loss but try to exaggerate it, the audiologist will know that the results are not valid and will not count you having a hearing loss at all! You will get more benefit from a mild hearing loss than from a fake hearing loss, in which you won’t get anything. Be honest to get the most benefit.

[Gmastertech]

Would be great to see you put together a video explanation on how to use the 38 CFR regulation tables and the audiogram results along with the Speech Discrimination scores and determine if you are rated correctly. It is probably the biggest questions we see daily from our disabled vets group of 60k+ vets. After many years of fighting an increase request denial with 6 Maryland CNC tests performed out of pocket I realized how tough they can be on hearing loss ratings. I have found it quite easy to translate after much study but feel a detailed, step by step video would be much better. Thanks for another great video.

[aphillips]

I was infantry 11B, specifically MG for my squad.  I get a couple episodes of tinnitus per day.  Wife says I need hearing aids because I can't hear conversations with ANY background noise.  I know it's hard to get a service connection, but I'm going to give it a shot.

[thadvanness]

I was in the field artillery as a cannon crew member. I filed a claim for hearing loss went to the VA got tested and service connected for it but a 0% rating which is common. When there I told the nurse about the ringing in my ears, and she said we will also test for Tinnitus. Turns out you need to file a separate claim for that which I did and brought the service connection letter with me showing the hearing loss due to service connection. The Dr was annoyed with the VA that they did not mention the tinnitus and made me come in for the tinnitus test. She did the test said my hearing has actually gotten worse and said I will be getting a letter from the VA showing service connection for tinnitus. Was easy straight forward nurse was great.

[kennash]

Hmmm...I've been diagnosed as bilateral hearing loss, with tinnitus, and yet was given a 0%! I'm going in on Dec 2 for audiology exam for miniers disease....

[Iamcoletv]

I have questions still. I’m a DAV with 10% for tinnitus now under review for hl (both are rated as service connected but HL was at 0) and I’ve been diagnosed with vestibular neuronitis with possible Meniere’s. I have a fitting tomorrow for my hearing aid due to bilateral loss. I’ve been fighting them for years. My job was Navy in a Helicopter Squadron

[towdjumper]

Great stuff getting hearing aids from the VHA.

[robertsimmons]

Dr.Cliff.
Sir, I'm starting to lose my ability to understand words. The VA filed for me. I saw a Doctor and I felt like she got mad at me, while I was doing the exam her talked to me through the head set and it was loud. I was telling her that she was loud and she came and readjusted my headset and said don't take it off. From then on i felt a different attitude from her, my question is, can a person have get bad hearing over time from my old military days of working around jet engines? I can't find anything written that says that old wounds to the ears can get better, then get worse at an older age. Thank you.

[gpurvis]

So I'm new to the industry, but we have a lot of veterans that come get hearing tests after being denied. Or are sent to us by the VA. But we are an independent company & we try our best to help them. One of the things I've found very odd. Is that it seems that the only factor that goes into compensation or whether they get aids is the WRS1 score. I had a combat engineer the other day that had a moderate to severe loss, but because he did well on WRS1 scores the VA paperwork said he wasn't eligible. But as I understand it, WRS1 testing is more or less giving them the proper amplification to correct the loss. So how on earth is that making them ineligible for hearing aids?