If you’re living with urinary incontinence (UI), you may find yourself avoiding social situations and restricting activities because you can’t control your bladder. While urinary incontinence can be a normal sign of aging, it can also be caused by a number of factors related to military service.
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If you’re a veteran with UI, you may be eligible for a VA rating for urinary incontinence. This article describes what incontinence is, what causes it, and how a urinary incontinence VA rating is awarded.
In this article about the VA rating for urinary incontinence:
What is urinary incontinence?
Urinary incontinence occurs when pelvic muscles weaken, and the normal process of storing and passing urine is disrupted. Some people experience occasional minor leaks and urges to urinate, while others have more frequent, stronger urges to urinate.
Types of urinary incontinence
There are six types of urinary incontinence. These include:
- Stress incontinence: urine leaks when there’s pressure on your bladder from coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising, or lifting heavy objects.
- Urge incontinence: a sudden and intense urge to urinate followed by an involuntary passing of urine. You may need to urinate often, including throughout the night. Urge incontinence can be caused by an infection or something more severe such as a neurological disorder or diabetes.
- Overflow incontinence: frequent or constant dribbling of urine because your bladder doesn’t empty completely.
- Total incontinence: your bladder can’t store any urine at all. You might pass large amounts of urine constantly, or you pass urine occasionally and leak urine in between.
- Mixed incontinence: you experience more than one type of urinary incontinence. Usually, mixed incontinence is a combination of stress incontinence and urge incontinence.
- Functional incontinence: a physical or mental condition that keeps you from making it to the bathroom in time. For example, if you have severe arthritis, you may not be able to remove your pants quickly enough, or you might have a condition that makes it difficult for you to walk to the bathroom.
Causes of urinary incontinence
Many aging adults experience urinary incontinence, but it’s not an inevitable part of getting older. Temporary incontinence can be caused by overconsumption of liquids or consuming something that stimulates the bladder such as caffeine, spicy food, or some blood pressure medications.
There are several underlying factors that can contribute to persistent urinary incontinence. These include:
- Pregnancy
- Childbirth
- Menopause
- Enlarged prostate
- Urinary tract infection (UTI)
- Radiation and surgery to treat prostate cancer
- Urinary tract obstructions including urinary stones or tumor
- Neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, stroke, brain tumor, or spinal injury
Urinary incontinence among veterans
Urinary incontinence is a common condition among adults. One study found that over 60% of adult females experience some type of UI, and another found that between 11% and 34% of men 65 and older have UI.
UI is also pretty common among veterans. According to the VA, urinary incontinence affects nearly 20% of female veterans. Due to the fact that many women delay treatment for the condition, this number could be higher.
Another study shows that among a group of veteran and non-veteran men, urinary incontinence was more prevalent among veterans. In that same group, male veterans 55 years old or younger had three times greater odds of urinary incontinence compared to their civilian counterparts.
Urinary incontinence VA rating
The VA rates urinary incontinence using the Schedule of Ratings for dysfunctions of the genitourinary system.
Specifically, urinary incontinence is rated using the “voiding dysfunction” criteria. Disability ratings for urinary incontinence can be 20%, 40%, or 60% disabling, depending on how severe the leakage is, and how often you have to change absorbent materials.
The guidelines for assigning a urinary incontinence VA rating are below.
Overactive bladder VA rating
While both urinary incontinence and overactive bladder have some things in common, they are not the same. Urinary incontinence involves involuntary urination and leakage, while an overactive bladder involves sudden, strong urges to urinate eight or more times per day.
It is possible to have both conditions.
The overactive bladder VA rating is also determined using the Ratings of the Genitourinary System—Dysfunctions, but the VA uses the criteria under “urinary frequency” to assign a disability rating.
Your rating depends on how often you urinate during the day, and how often you wake up to urinate overnight.
Urinary incontinence and related conditions
Because urinary incontinence is so often connected to other conditions, veterans may be eligible to claim urinary incontinence secondary to a primary service-connected disability.
If you are diagnosed with another service-connected condition, you may be able to combine that rating with a urinary incontinence to increase your overall rating.
Urinary tract infection
Veterans sometimes have more limited access to restrooms and personal hygiene products, which can lead to an increase in bacterial infections and UTIs.
Military sexual assault
Military sexual assault, which is unfortunately fairly common, can put veterans at a greater risk of developing a UTI and other lower uterine infections that can cause urinary incontinence. Sexual abuse survivors have significantly higher rates of stress and urge incontinence.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Veterans with mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are also at a higher risk of experiencing urinary incontinence. In fact, one study found a higher incidence of female veterans diagnosed with PTSD also reported urinary incontinence.
Traumatic brain injury
Veterans who suffer from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may find that the TBI interrupts how well the brain communicates with the bladder, causing incontinence.
Diabetes
People with diabetes are more likely to experience stress incontinence. Veterans who develop diabetes during or after military service may be at risk of developing urinary incontinence as a result.
Renal disease
Renal disease, a disease more prevalent among veterans than non-veterans, is often associated with a higher incidence of urinary dysfunction.
Obesity
Obesity affects more than one-third of adults in the U.S. and is a major risk factor for developing urinary incontinence. Although there isn’t a specific diagnostic code for obesity, it is often a result of other service-connected conditions. Veterans with obesity caused by service-connected conditions often find their obesity leads to additional health problems.
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TDIU for urinary incontinence
A veteran can be awarded total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) benefits if they can’t maintain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected conditions.
Constantly running to the bathroom or having accidents throughout the day can be embarrassing and make it difficult to work. For veterans with an overactive bladder, it can be challenging to complete daily tasks at work or at home, especially if the condition negatively affects the quality of your sleep.
TDIU pays at the same level as a 100% disability rating, even when the veteran’s combined rating is below 100%.
Veterans will typically be eligible for TDIU if they have:
- One service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling OR
- Two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling and a combined rating of 70% or more.
How Woods & Woods can help
Our VA-accredited attorneys have helped thousands of veterans nationwide who can no longer work because of their service-connected conditions. Call us today for your free, confidential TDIU case evaluation. You won’t pay us unless we win your claim.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. Service-connected urinary incontinence is rated using the Schedule of Ratings for dysfunctions of the genitourinary system.
Specifically, urinary incontinence is rated using the “voiding dysfunction” criteria. Disability ratings for urinary incontinence can be 20%, 40%, or 60%, depending on how severe the leakage is, and how often you have to change absorbent materials.
Yes. Veterans with a service-connected condition that causes urinary incontinence may qualify for a urinary incontinence VA rating secondary to their primary condition. Some conditions that increase a veteran’s risk of developing UI include diabetes, PTSD, and TBI.
Neil Woods
Neil Woods is a VA disability attorney and the owner and president of Woods & Woods. He received his law degree from Western Michigan University.
