Rating guide · Neurological
Traumatic Brain Injury: How the VA Scores It
A TBI rating isn’t one number for one problem. The VA scores cognitive effects on a facet table, then rates headaches, hearing problems, mood and other residuals on their own.
- The 10-facet scoring
- Separate residual ratings
- Automatic secondary links
- Undocumented TBIs
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Three Parts of a TBI Rating
- Cognitive and subjective symptoms are scored on the TBI facet table below.
- Emotional and behavioral symptoms go under the mental health formula when there’s a mental health diagnosis, or on the facet table when there isn’t.
- Physical residuals with their own diagnosis, like migraines, tinnitus, hearing loss, seizures or balance problems, get their own separate ratings.
The one rule: the same symptom can’t be counted twice.
From Facet Scores to a Percentage
The ten facets are memory, attention, concentration and executive functions; judgment; social interaction; orientation; motor activity; visual spatial orientation; subjective symptoms; neurobehavioral effects; communication; and consciousness. Your highest-scoring facet sets the rating.
Conditions the VA Automatically Ties to TBI
Once a TBI is service-connected, these are presumed to be caused by it, unless there’s clear evidence otherwise:
- Parkinsonism after a moderate or severe TBI
- Unprovoked seizures after a moderate or severe TBI
- Certain dementias (presenile Alzheimer-type, frontotemporal, and Lewy body) within 15 years of a moderate or severe TBI
- Depression within 3 years of a moderate or severe TBI, or 12 months of a mild one
- Hormone deficiency diseases from hypothalamo-pituitary changes within 12 months of a moderate or severe TBI
Severity is judged by what happened at the time of injury, such as how long you were unconscious, not by how you function now.
When Your TBI Was Never Written Down
Blast exposures, vehicle rollovers and hard landings often went unrecorded, especially before routine screening. Statements from people who were there, records of related symptoms afterward, and a current neurological evaluation can establish the injury.
TBI VA Rating: Common Questions
Can I get rated for both TBI and PTSD?
Yes, as long as different symptoms support each rating. An examiner may need to sort out which symptoms come from which condition.
Are headaches after a TBI rated separately?
Yes. Migraines and other residuals with their own diagnosis are rated under their own diagnostic codes in addition to the facet rating.
What decides whether my TBI was mild, moderate or severe?
The VA looks at symptoms at the time of injury, such as length of unconsciousness, post-traumatic amnesia, and Glasgow Coma Scale, not your current functioning.
I had a blast exposure but no diagnosis. Can I still claim TBI?
Yes. Lay statements about the event and your symptoms afterward, plus a current medical evaluation, can support the claim.
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