Looking For An Expert On Hearing Loss Tables

[carlie]

Looking for expert help on the Rating Schedule for Hearing loss.

If you feel so inclined, would you take a look at and make some suggestions

on the topic thread below.

Thanks,

carlie

http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?show...mp;#entry197266

[broncovet]

The hearing loss rating page is 38 CFR Book C 4.85, 4.86, 4.87

You can follow this link.

http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/bookc.htm

and scroll down.

Yes, the ratings do go to 100% . You would have to be profoundly deaf to get that.

You need to know the average hearing loss, not the maximum.

The chart is hard to follow, but if you post the decibel loss in each frequency, in both ears AND if you know the speech discrimination %, I will help you look up the hearing loss rating.

[broncovet]

The link Berta posted is for diseases of the ear, but not percentages for hearing loss, which is what I think you wanted.

Tinnitus (ringing in the ears), if Service connected, is 10%. There is no "bilateral factor" for tinnitus..its pretty much 10% or nothing. I think there are some cases awaiting a decision, which may change the bilateral factor, if the Veteran is successful. It may have already been decided, I am not sure.

The "speech discrimination" is critical to the rating. The audiologist will put you in a sound proof room and you put on headphones. She will say, "Say the word popcorn"

And you repeat the word she says. If you get 10 out of 10 right thats 100% speech discrimination.

Speech discrimination often "drops" with people who have been hard of hearing for a long time, especially without hearing aids. Basically, the brain interprets words into something meaningfull...however, the brain looses that ability when you cant hear well.

In other words you may say the word "spoon", but the interpretation to a round eating utensil does not happen...almost like you said "spoon" in Chinese. You could hear the word in chinese, but your brain would not likely make the connection. In a similar way, a person with speech discrimination problems NOT ONLY does not hear well but looses

"speech discrimination". It is often very poor in the elderly who have been HOH a long time.