If you’re searching for a VA rating for neurobehavioral effects, you may be frustrated. That’s because the VA doesn’t assign VA ratings for neurobehavioral effects on their own. Instead, neurobehavioral effects are considered symptoms of an underlying service-connected condition, such as traumatic brain injury, PTSD, or another neurological or mental health disorder.
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This post explains more about neurobehavioral effects and how you may be able to service connect these symptoms.
Key Takeaways
- Neurobehavioral effects also may be caused by a neurobehavioral disorder such as dementia, stroke, multiple sclerosis, or obsessive compulsive disorder.
- Research has found that exposure to Agent Orange and water contamination at Camp Lejeune may result in neurobehavioral effects.
- There isn’t a specific rating for neurobehavioral effects because they’re symptoms of underlying conditions. Instead, if you developed neurobehavioral effects during service, you need to service connect the issue causing the symptoms.
In this article about the VA rating for neurobehavioral effects:
- What are neurobehavioral effects?
- Causes of neurobehavioral effects in veterans
- Neurobehavioral effects from Camp Lejeune water contamination
- Neurobehavioral effects from Agent Orange
- Neurobehavioral effects in Gulf War veterans
- VA rating for neurobehavioral effects
- TDIU for neurobehavioral effects
- Frequently asked questions
What are neurobehavioral effects?
Neurobehavioral effects are changes in your brain’s functioning and nervous system that can cause cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral issues. The cause of these effects may be the result of injury, illness, long-term stress, or toxic exposure.
Neurobehavioral effects may look like:
- Memory loss
- Trouble concentrating
- Slower mental processing
- Poor judgment
- Irritability
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Mood swings
- Impulsivity
- Aggression
- Withdrawal from others
- Changes in sleep or appetite
These symptoms can serve as an alert that something bigger may be happening with your nervous system.
Causes of neurobehavioral effects in veterans
Neurobehavioral effects in veterans may be the result of something that happened in combat. Common reasons for neurobehavioral effects in veterans are:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Exposure to toxins like Agent Orange or water contamination
Neurobehavioral effects also may be caused by a neurobehavioral disorder. These disorders may or may not be related to military service and include:
- Dementia
- Stroke
- Multiple sclerosis
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD)
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
If you have one of these conditions that either began or worsened as a result of your military service, you may be eligible for VA benefits.
Neurobehavioral effects from Camp Lejeune water contamination
For decades, the military allowed carcinogens and other pollutants to reach the groundwater at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It’s estimated that as many as one million people may have been exposed to toxic chemicals in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune.
Research has found that exposure to water contamination at Camp Lejeune may result in neurobehavioral effects.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act, part of the 2022 PACT Act, allowed veterans, civilian workers, and families exposed to contaminated water at the base between Aug. 1, 1953 and Dec. 31, 1987 to file lawsuits for harm. The suits had to be filed by August 2024, and litigation is still ongoing. While neurobehavioral effects may be part of these claims, most of them involve cancers.
Neurobehavioral effects from Agent Orange
Agent Orange, a powerful defoliant designed to strip leaves from trees and plants, was widely used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Exposure to Agent Orange can lead to serious health issues, including neurological disorders, which are often characterized by neurobehavioral symptoms.
Recent studies have suggested Agent Orange may increase an individual’s risk of early-onset dementia. People diagnosed with dementia experience neurobehavioral effects like memory loss, anxiety, irritability, and mood swings, among others.
The VA also recognizes that Parkinsonism, Parkinson’s disease and early-onset peripheral neuropathy are linked to the development of Agent Orange exposure, and offers a presumptive service connection to veterans with these disorders who were exposed to the herbicide. This means qualifying veterans do not need to prove a medical connection between their service and their condition to receive VA benefits.
If you experience neurobehavioral symptoms you believe are related to a condition caused by Agent Orange exposure, you may qualify for VA benefits, presumptive or otherwise.
Neurobehavioral effects in Gulf War veterans
Gulf War veterans are veterans who served in specific locations in Southeast Asia from Aug. 2, 1990, to the present. Many of them have been diagnosed with Gulf War Illness (also called Gulf War Syndrome), a condition marked by chronic symptoms.
Research has found that veterans with Gulf War Illness have significantly poorer attention, executive functioning, learning, and short- and long-term verbal memory than those without it.
If you’re a Gulf War veteran experiencing chronic neurobehavioral symptoms that cannot be explained with a diagnosis, you may qualify for a presumptive service connection for a medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI).
VA rating for neurobehavioral effects
There isn’t a specific rating for neurobehavioral effects because they’re symptoms of underlying conditions and not conditions themselves. Instead, if you believe you developed certain neurobehavioral effects during service, you need to service connect the issue causing the symptoms.
For example, if you suffered a TBI during your military service and now you’re experiencing neurobehavioral effects like confusion and mood changes, you can service connect the TBI and report the neurobehavioral effects as symptoms. The TBI is the condition you would receive a rating for.
However, it is still important to report your neurobehavioral symptoms to your doctor, as the severity and type of symptoms may qualify you for a higher rating. It can be helpful to track the frequency and severity of your symptoms, neurobehavioral or otherwise, in a journal that you can take with you to your C&P exam or other medical appointments.
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TDIU for neurobehavioral effects
A veteran may be awarded total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for conditions such as PTSD or TBI, which commonly cause neurobehavioral symptoms that can make it difficult to maintain a job.
TDIU is also known as individual unemployability or simply IU. Veterans are eligible for these benefits if they can’t hold down “substantially gainful” employment due to their service-connected conditions.
Veterans who receive TDIU benefits are compensated at the same level as those with a 100% disability rating, even though their 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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Frequently asked questions
Neurobehavioral effects are changes in thinking, mood, or behavior that stem from how the brain is functioning. They are often symptoms of a greater issue or condition, and include things like memory loss, difficulty concentrating, slowed thinking, and irritability.
The VA doesn’t have a disability rating for neurobehavioral effects because these are symptoms, not a diagnosis. However, there may be a VA rating for the underlying issue that causes those symptoms, if you can service connect it.
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.
