VA Rating for Meniere’s Disease

Veterans with Meniere’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear, have to deal with stressful complications like vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus. Although there is treatment available to help people cope with the disease, there is no cure. 

If you served in the military and have symptoms of Meniere’s or have a Meniere’s disease diagnosis, you may be eligible for compensation. This article describes what Meniere’s disease is and what symptoms contribute to a Meniere’s disease VA rating.

What is Meniere’s disease?

Meniere’s disease is a disease of the inner ear that typically only affects one ear. Symptoms of the disease are caused by a buildup of fluids in the labyrinth of the ear, the compartment in the ear that contains the organs of balance and hearing 

This buildup of fluid interferes with normal balance and hearing signals between the inner ear and the brain, often resulting in these symptoms:

• Vertigo
• Nausea 
• A feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear
• Hearing loss that may come and go
• Tinnitus

Attacks of vertigo may occur without warning or after a short period of tinnitus or muffled hearing. It’s possible to experience single attacks of dizziness every once in a while, or many attacks closer together. Sometimes, people with Meniere’s lose their balance completely and fall down. 

What causes Meniere’s disease?

Anyone can develop Meniere’s, but it’s more common in people between the ages of 40 and 60.

There is no known cause of the disease, but there are several factors that may contribute to Meniere’s or fluid buildup in the inner ear including:

• Viral infections
• Autoimmune disorders
• Head injuries
• Migraine headaches
• Genetics
• Poor fluid drainage

One study even suggests a possible connection between Meniere’s disease and exposure to jet fuel.

Whatever the cause, an increase of fluid in the middle ear is the main detectable problem when you have an attack. An MRI or other test may show that you’ve had an attack in the past, but diagnosing Meniere’s can also involve hearing and balance tests among other types of testing. 

Veterans living with Meniere’s disease

Symptoms and complications of Meniere’s disease can make daily life at home and work a lot more stressful. If your symptoms are severe enough, certain activities can be dangerous.

If you have sudden or frequent vertigo attacks, driving a car or operating machinery could be deadly.

If you suffer from hearing loss from Meniere’s disease, you may find that answering phones and communicating with co-workers is problematic and anxiety-provoking. Anxiety can also stem from going to work every day and not knowing when your next Meniere’s attack will be. 

No matter what symptoms you experience or how severe and frequent they are, keep detailed notes of them. These factors play a big role in how high your disability rating will be. Meniere’s disease is a progressive disease, so it may only get worse. 

Meniere’s disease VA rating

In the Schedule of Ratings, the VA rates Meniere’s disease under diagnostic code 6205. Potential disability ratings are 30%, 60%, or 100% based on how often you experience symptoms and how severe they are. 

The ratings table below shows that hearing impairment, attacks of vertigo, and cerebellar gait (unsteady, irregular steps, and swaying from side to side) are symptoms used to rate the disease. 

Although tinnitus is often a factor in diagnosing Meniere’s, it is not a symptom used to determine a disability rating for Meniere’s. For all three rating levels, the VA specifically notes “with or without tinnitus.” 

Description	VA Rating	Monthly payment (vet only)
Hearing impairment with attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring more than once weekly, with or without tinnitus	100%	$3,737.85
Hearing impairment with attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring from one to four times a month, with or without tinnitus	60%	$1,3161.88
Hearing impairment with vertigo less than once a month, with or without tinnitus	30%	$524.31

The VA either evaluates Meniere’s syndrome using the criteria above or separately evaluates vertigo, hearing impairment, and tinnitus – whichever method results in a higher overall rating. 

An evaluation for hearing impairment, tinnitus, or vertigo cannot be combined with an evaluation under diagnostic code 6205.

Meniere’s disease and related conditions

Whether you have an official Meniere’s disease diagnosis or not, these related conditions could either help you service connect your Meniere’s or may be an indicator that you’ve developed the disease. 

Meniere’s disease from head injuries or acoustic trauma

Meniere’s can be secondary to other service-connected disabilities. If you have a disability rating for another condition that triggered your Meniere’s, you may want to investigate whether it qualifies for a VA rating on a secondary basis.

For example, combat veterans are particularly at risk of a blow to the head, which can result in a variety of medical issues. Because Meniere’s disease is thought to be caused by a disturbance of fluid in the inner ear, veterans with head injuries, acoustic trauma, or a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be more at risk of developing Meniere’s. 

If you have a VA disability rating for a head injury or other physical trauma and you’re experiencing symptoms of Meniere’s disease, it’s important to get checked by a medical professional.

Meniere’s disease and vertigo 

Meniere’s disease causes vertigo, but they are not the same. It’s possible to receive a VA rating for vertigo on its own, but you will likely receive more compensation for Meniere’s. 

The highest rating for vertigo by itself is 30%. Veterans with Meniere’s can be rated up to 100%.

Can you claim Meniere’s disease secondary to a tinnitus VA rating?

Tinnitus, an early indicator of Meniere’s disease, is one of the most common service-related disabilities among veterans due to military noise exposure.

Since so many veterans experience tinnitus, many wonder if they can claim Meniere’s disease secondary to tinnitus. No evidence suggests Meniere’s disease is caused by tinnitus. VA examiners have not historically accepted the argument that Meniere’s disease is caused by service-connected hearing loss or tinnitus.

Tinnitus by itself is a compensable disability, but veterans with tinnitus cannot receive both a tinnitus VA rating and a VA rating for Meniere’s disease. Instead, the VA can assign separate evaluations for symptoms of Meniere’s including tinnitus, hearing impairment, and vertigo. 

TDIU for Meniere’s disease

A veteran can be awarded total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) benefits if they can’t maintain substantially gainful employment due to their service-connected conditions. 

It may be difficult for a veteran with Meniere’s disease to work because of frequent bouts of vertigo or trouble hearing. Severe symptoms of Meniere’s can make tasks like driving, operating machinery, or even talking on the phone nearly impossible. 

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:

• At least 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

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How Woods and Woods can help

If you have a service-connected condition that affects your ability to live and work comfortably, you deserve VA disability compensation. Contact Woods and Woods today for a free consultation to see how we can help. You only pay us if we win. 

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