Enter the numbers from your audiogram and watch the VA run its own three-table method — 38 CFR §4.85, diagnostic code 6100 — with every lookup shown, including the §4.86 exceptional patterns most calculators skip.
Estimate only, using the official method of 38 CFR §4.85 and §4.86 (diagnostic code 6100). The rating requires an exam by a state-licensed audiologist with a Maryland CNC speech test, done without hearing aids — an online hearing test or pharmacy screening can't be used. Your official rating is decided by the VA. Not legal advice; VetAid is not VA-accredited.
VetAid's AI reads your decision letter and C&P exam, flags exam errors and missed secondaries (tinnitus, vertigo, Meniere's), and drafts the statements to fight it.
Analyze my claim free →These are the regulation's own tables, reproduced in full — the VA publishes them only as scanned images, which is why almost nobody can read them. The calculator above highlights the exact cells used: right ear left ear
| % of speech discrimination | Puretone threshold average (dB) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–41 | 42–49 | 50–57 | 58–65 | 66–73 | 74–81 | 82–89 | 90–97 | 98+ | |
| 92–100 | I | I | I | II | II | II | III | III | IV |
| 84–90 | II | II | II | III | III | III | IV | IV | IV |
| 76–82 | III | III | IV | IV | IV | V | V | V | V |
| 68–74 | IV | IV | V | V | VI | VI | VII | VII | VII |
| 60–66 | V | V | VI | VI | VII | VII | VIII | VIII | VIII |
| 52–58 | VI | VI | VII | VII | VIII | VIII | VIII | VIII | IX |
| 44–50 | VII | VII | VIII | VIII | VIII | IX | IX | IX | X |
| 36–42 | VIII | VIII | VIII | IX | IX | IX | X | X | X |
| 0–34 | IX | X | XI | XI | XI | XI | XI | XI | XI |
| 0–41 | 42–48 | 49–55 | 56–62 | 63–69 | 70–76 | 77–83 | 84–90 | 91–97 | 98–104 | 105+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI |
* Table VIa is for use only as specified in §§ 4.85 and 4.86 — when the examiner certifies speech testing isn't appropriate, or when a §4.86 exceptional pattern makes it the higher numeral.
| Better ear ↓ / Poorer ear → | XI | X | IX | VIII | VII | VI | V | IV | III | II | I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XI | 100* | ||||||||||
| X | 90 | 80 | |||||||||
| IX | 80 | 70 | 60 | ||||||||
| VIII | 70 | 60 | 50 | 50 | |||||||
| VII | 60 | 60 | 50 | 40 | 40 | ||||||
| VI | 50 | 50 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 30 | |||||
| V | 40 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 20 | 20 | ||||
| IV | 30 | 30 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 10 | |||
| III | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | ||
| II | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| I | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* At 100%, review for entitlement to special monthly compensation under §3.350. Rows are the better ear, columns the poorer ear (§4.85(e)).
Tables VI, VIa and VII reproduced cell-for-cell from 38 CFR §4.85 (Federal Register graphics ER11MY99.005–.006, 64 FR 25206, May 11, 1999), checked against the live eCFR on 2026-08-16. §4.86 text from 64 FR 25209.
Two threshold patterns unlock a second lookup path, and each ear is tested separately:
§4.86(a): when all four thresholds (1000–4000 Hz) are 55 dB or more, the ear uses Table VI or Table VIa — whichever gives the higher numeral. This protects veterans whose flat, severe loss would be understated by a good speech score.
§4.86(b): when the threshold is 30 dB or less at 1000 Hz and 70 dB or more at 2000 Hz — a steep ski-slope loss — the ear takes the higher of Table VI or VIa, and that numeral is then elevated one step higher. This is the only place in the hearing schedule where a numeral gets bumped up.
The rating comes from the audiologist's exam, not a self-test. §4.85(a) requires a state-licensed audiologist, a Maryland CNC speech discrimination test (a controlled 50-word list — scores move in 2% steps), and puretone audiometry without hearing aids. Numbers from an app, an online tone test, or a hearing-aid store screening won't be used.
0% is common — and still worth having. Table VII gives 0% to most numeral combinations below the middle of the table. But a 0% rating means the VA has conceded service connection: when your hearing worsens (it usually does), you file for an increase instead of re-proving the whole claim, and the effective-date fight is already won. It also anchors the claim most veterans actually get paid on — tinnitus (DC 6260, 10%), which is rated separately and combines with hearing loss. Full walkthrough: how the VA rates hearing loss.
One service-connected ear: the other ear counts as numeral I (§4.85(f)) — unless the non-service-connected ear is also deaf, in which case §3.383's paired-organ rule can allow compensation as if both were service-connected.
Rounding: the regulation defines the average as the four thresholds summed and divided by 4 (§4.85(d)); VA raters round a fractional average to the nearest whole decibel, .5 rounding up — the calculator shows that step when it happens.
Tinnitus, vertigo and Meniere's are rated separately and combine with your hearing rating — see where your combined number lands with the combined rating calculator, and check what a delayed filing costs with the back pay calculator.
Three lookups under 38 CFR §4.85 (DC 6100): average your thresholds at 1000/2000/3000/4000 Hz per ear, turn that average plus your Maryland CNC score into a Roman numeral with Table VI (or VIa in §4.86 cases), then cross the two ears' numerals in Table VII for the percentage.
Table VII assigns 0% to most low-numeral combinations — a better ear at numeral I pays 0% unless the poorer ear hits X or XI. The 0% still establishes service connection, which makes a later increase claim far easier and pairs with the separate 10% tinnitus rating.
The controlled 50-word speech discrimination test §4.85(a) requires, given by a state-licensed audiologist without hearing aids. Each word is 2%, so scores come in even steps. Online or store hearing screenings can't substitute.
Two patterns, each ear separate: (a) all four thresholds ≥55 dB — use the higher of Table VI or VIa; (b) ≤30 dB at 1000 Hz and ≥70 dB at 2000 Hz — use the higher of VI or VIa, then elevate the numeral one step.
The non-service-connected ear is assigned numeral I under §4.85(f), subject to the paired-organ rule in 38 CFR §3.383 if that ear is also deaf.
Yes — recurrent tinnitus is DC 6260, a flat 10% whether it's in one ear or both, and it combines with the hearing loss rating.