Pfb 0% ... Is That Really Success For The Veteran .

[FormerMember]

VA considers PFB to be in the DC 7800 skin/scarring area. Thus, you need in excess of 5% of the exposed area in order to rate it at 10%. The head doesn't comprise that much exposed area- and certainly not the "beard" area by itself. That is the problem. If you shaved everywhere (armpits/genital) you might have a case but a flimsy one at best. PFB is a product of shaving too closely. That it began in the service is why you were given SC. It persists because you continue to shave too closely. Ideally, most who suffer this opt for a short beard or a razor that doesn't cut so closely to the skin. Regardless of the cause or effects, it doesn't impact your ability to make money in any significant way unless you are a movie star or a TV persona.

Diseases and injuries are rated based on their impact on your earnings. I'm not trying to make light of your circumstances but you can almost see why VA is indifferent to your plight. O% does grant you one thing. If you desire treatment for the PFB, VA will gladly give you meds for it. I had one fellow who got them to buy him special razors with a wire to hold the blade higher and thus allow the whiskers to be a slight bit higher above the skin to prevent it. And, as someone pointed out above, if you obtain another 0% rating for, say, hearing loss, VA will assign a 10% rating based on two 0% ratings if you have no other compensable ratings.