38 CFR Part 4, Rating Schedule

38 CFR § 4.87a

Schedule of ratings-other sense organs

Comes up in claims for loss of smell or taste tied to a documented medical or anatomical cause.

How the Board actually uses this section

Original RateMyVSO research, catalogued from the full archive of published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions. No other source measures how each regulation plays out at the Board.

36.6%

granted at least one issue

3,362

published decisions citing it

The grant figure reflects the mix of claims where this section comes up, not the legal merit of any single claim.

Read the 3,362 decisions citing § 4.87a

The conditions it decides

Decision counts per diagnostic code. Select a bar to read those exact Board decisions.

Tinnitus, recurrent (DC 6260)1,614about this conditionHearing loss (DC 6100)1,429about this conditionChronic nonsuppurative otitis media with effusion (serous otitis media) (DC 6201)246about this conditionSense of smell, complete loss (DC 6275)161about this conditionPeripheral vestibular disorders (DC 6204)108about this conditionChronic otitis externa (DC 6210)106about this condition

What this regulation says, in plain English

This section rates complete loss of the sense of smell or taste at 10 percent each, but only when there is an actual anatomical or medical basis for the loss, not simply a subjective complaint.

Read the full text of 38 CFR § 4.87a

This text was last amended by VA on December 14, 2016. We check it against eCFR every week.

See the full table on eCFR.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155)

Related Tools and Guides

38 CFR § 4.85

Evaluation of hearing impairment

38 CFR § 4.87

Schedule of ratings-ear

38 CFR § 3.385

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38 CFR § 4.86

Exceptional patterns of hearing impairment

38 CFR § 3.383

Special consideration for paired organs and extremities

Read this section on eCFR ↗ · All rating regulations

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