Review sinusitis and rhinitis guidance covering the shared General Rating Formula for Sinusitis (DC 6510-6514: pansinusitis, ethmoid, frontal, maxillary, sphenoid), allergic/vasomotor rhinitis (DC 6522), bacterial rhinitis (DC 6523), and granulomatous rhinitis (DC 6524).
Condition Overview & Clinical Scope
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VA rates eight distinct diagnoses under this hub. Pansinusitis (DC 6510), ethmoid (DC 6511), frontal (DC 6512), maxillary (DC 6513), and sphenoid (DC 6514) sinusitis share a textually identical General Rating Formula for Sinusitis, a 4-tier table (50/30/10/0 percent) based on surgical history, episode frequency, and symptom severity. Allergic or vasomotor rhinitis (DC 6522), bacterial rhinitis (DC 6523), and granulomatous rhinitis (DC 6524) each have their own small, independent 2-tier table.
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Common Questions & FAQs
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What are you trying to understand about sinusitis and rhinitis?
VA rates eight distinct diagnoses under this hub. Pansinusitis (DC 6510), ethmoid (DC 6511), frontal (DC 6512), maxillary (DC 6513), and sphenoid (DC 6514) sinusitis share a textually identical General Rating Formula for Sinusitis, a 4-tier table (50/30/10/0 percent) based on surgical history, episode frequency, and symptom severity. Allergic or vasomotor rhinitis (DC 6522), bacterial rhinitis (DC 6523), and granulomatous rhinitis (DC 6524) each have their own small, independent 2-tier table.
This hub explains the published DC 6510-6514/6522/6523/6524 schedule and common record language. It does not diagnose a sinus or nasal condition, determine service connection, infer undocumented findings, estimate an outcome, or replace medical care or accredited representation. IMPORTANT: rhinoscleroma is textually part of DC 6523 (bacterial rhinitis) per 38 CFR 4.97, even though the public Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ groups it under a granulomatous-conditions checkbox alongside DC 6524's Wegener's granulomatosis/lethal midline granuloma criteria. RatingScope always evaluates rhinoscleroma under DC 6523, never DC 6524, regardless of the DBQ's own layout. DC 6510-6514 (pansinusitis, ethmoid, frontal, maxillary, and sphenoid sinusitis) share a textually identical rating table; if a veteran is diagnosed with more than one of these five sinus conditions from overlapping episode or symptom findings, evaluating them separately risks impermissible pyramiding under 38 CFR 4.14 -- disclosed here, not resolved on a case-specific basis. A pending VA rulemaking (RIN 2900-AQ72) may eventually relocate this entire DC 6502-6524 bundle to section 4.87; RatingScope does not assume how or whether it will apply before it is finalized.
Percentage Guides
Understanding Your Percentage
Select a pathway to see what the published criteria ask about, what records may clarify it, and what should not be assumed.
50%
Highest listed pathway
Following radical surgery with chronic osteomyelitis, or near constant sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain and tenderness of the affected sinus, and purulent discharge or crusting after repeated surgeries.
What separates the next level: The 30% tier uses episode-frequency counts (incapacitating or non-incapacitating) instead of surgical history or the bundled severe symptom pattern.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Following radical surgery with chronic osteomyelitis, or; near constant sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain and tenderness of affected sinus, and purulent discharge or crusting after repeated surgeries.
Qualification explanation
Either the surgery/osteomyelitis path or the bundled near-constant severe symptom pattern independently reaches this tier -- meeting either one alone is sufficient.
Examples
Records document radical sinus surgery with chronic osteomyelitis, with no other findings.; Records document near-constant headaches, sinus pain and tenderness, and purulent crusting following two prior sinus surgeries, with no chronic osteomyelitis documented.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Surgical records documenting osteomyelitis; Treatment records documenting the near-constant symptom pattern
Functional impact examples
Severe, near-continuous sinus symptoms or a serious post-surgical complication requiring intensive management.
Common misconceptions
The surgery/osteomyelitis path and the bundled symptom-pattern path are genuinely independent alternatives -- meeting either one alone is sufficient.; This exact same 50 percent tier text applies identically to pansinusitis, ethmoid, frontal, maxillary, and sphenoid sinusitis -- the diagnosis label does not change the criteria.
38 CFR 4.97; 6510; Current DC 6510-6514 educational pathway and highest listed schedular percentage.
30%
Next: 50%
Three or more incapacitating episodes per year requiring prolonged antibiotic treatment, or more than six non-incapacitating episodes per year with headaches, pain, and purulent discharge or crusting.
What separates the next level: The 50% tier requires surgical/osteomyelitis history or the more severe near-constant symptom pattern instead. The 10% tier uses lower episode counts (one to two incapacitating, or three to six non-incapacitating).
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Three or more incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis requiring prolonged (lasting four to six weeks) antibiotic treatment, or; more than six non-incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain, and purulent discharge or crusting.
Qualification explanation
Either the incapacitating-episode count or the non-incapacitating-episode count independently reaches this tier.
Examples
Records document three separate incapacitating episodes over the past year, each requiring a 4-6 week antibiotic course.; Records document eight non-incapacitating episodes over the year, each with headaches and purulent crusting.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Treatment records documenting episode frequency and antibiotic courses
An incapacitating episode requires prescribed bedrest and treatment by a physician, per the regulation's own Note -- episode counts alone without that context do not automatically qualify.
38 CFR 4.97; 6510; Current DC 6510-6514 educational pathway.
10%
Next: 30%
One or two incapacitating episodes per year requiring prolonged antibiotic treatment, or three to six non-incapacitating episodes per year with headaches, pain, and purulent discharge or crusting.
What separates the next level: The 30% tier requires higher episode counts instead (three or more incapacitating, or more than six non-incapacitating).
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
One or two incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis requiring prolonged (lasting four to six weeks) antibiotic treatment, or; three to six non-incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain, and purulent discharge or crusting.
Qualification explanation
Either the incapacitating-episode count or the non-incapacitating-episode count independently reaches this tier.
Examples
Records document one incapacitating episode over the past year, requiring a 5-week antibiotic course.; Records document four non-incapacitating episodes over the year.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Treatment records documenting episode frequency and antibiotic courses
Functional impact examples
A documented, recurring sinus symptom pattern even at this foundation compensable level.
Common misconceptions
This is the lowest COMPENSABLE tier -- DC 6510-6514 also has an explicit 0 percent tier below it (X-ray-detected sinusitis only), unlike Trachea/Bronchi's or Scars' lowest tiers, which had no listed 0 percent row at all.
38 CFR 4.97; 6510; Current DC 6510-6514 educational pathway.
0%
Next: 10%
Sinusitis detected only by X-ray findings, with none of the higher tiers' surgical, episode-frequency, or symptom-severity findings documented.
What separates the next level: The 10% tier requires at least one or two incapacitating episodes, or three to six non-incapacitating episodes, documented beyond imaging alone.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Detected by X-ray only.
Qualification explanation
A specific, explicit 0 percent criterion -- modeled as a real registry row here, matching the older Peptic Disease 'history documented' 0 percent pattern rather than a below-threshold fallback with no backing row.
Examples
Imaging documents mucosal thickening consistent with sinusitis, with no incapacitating or non-incapacitating episodes, surgery, or severe symptom pattern documented.
Medical evidence
Imaging results (X-ray, CT); Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ
Functional impact examples
An imaging-confirmed diagnosis without a currently compensable symptom or treatment burden.
Common misconceptions
This is an explicit listed tier in the regulation's own text, not an invented floor -- DC 6510-6514 is one of the few tables in this codebase's build history with a real 0 percent row rather than a no-backing-row fallback.
Related topics
X-ray-only detection
Source context
38 CFR 4.97; 6510; Current DC 6510-6514 educational pathway and lowest listed schedular percentage.
Percentage Guides
Understanding Your Percentage -- Allergic or Vasomotor Rhinitis (DC 6522)
Select a pathway to see what the published criteria ask about, what records may clarify it, and what should not be assumed.
DC 6522 -- 30%
Highest listed pathway
Nasal polyps are present.
What separates the next level: The 10% tier requires severe obstruction without polyps instead.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
With polyps.
Qualification explanation
A single, self-contained criterion.
Examples
Records document nasal polyps confirmed on examination.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Examination records documenting polyps
Functional impact examples
Documented nasal polyps affecting airflow.
Common misconceptions
DC 6522 has no 0 percent row; a negative finding on both this criterion and the obstruction criterion falls to a generic no-qualifying-criterion result, not an invented 0 percent row.
Related topics
nasal polyps
Source context
38 CFR 4.97; 6522; Current DC 6522 educational pathway and highest listed schedular percentage.
DC 6522 -- 10%
Next: 30%
Without polyps, but with greater than 50-percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides, or complete obstruction on one side.
What separates the next level: The 30% tier requires documented polyps instead.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Without polyps, but with greater than 50-percent obstruction of nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side.
Qualification explanation
A single, self-contained criterion distinct from the polyps criterion.
Examples
Records document 60 percent obstruction on both sides, with no polyps present.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Examination records documenting obstruction percentage
Functional impact examples
Documented significant nasal airflow obstruction without polyps.
Common misconceptions
This is the lowest listed DC 6522 tier -- there is no explicit 0 percent row.
Related topics
nasal obstruction
Source context
38 CFR 4.97; 6522; Current DC 6522 educational pathway and lowest listed schedular percentage.
Percentage Guides
Understanding Your Percentage -- Bacterial Rhinitis (DC 6523)
Select a pathway to see what the published criteria ask about, what records may clarify it, and what should not be assumed.
DC 6523 -- 50%
Highest listed pathway
Rhinoscleroma is documented.
What separates the next level: The 10% tier requires permanent turbinate hypertrophy with nasal obstruction instead.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Rhinoscleroma.
Qualification explanation
A single, self-contained criterion. IMPORTANT: rhinoscleroma is rated here, under DC 6523 (bacterial rhinitis) -- not under DC 6524 (granulomatous rhinitis) -- even though the public Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ groups it with a granulomatous-conditions checkbox next to Wegener's granulomatosis and lethal midline granuloma. This is a DBQ layout choice, not a regulatory reclassification.
Examples
Records document a rhinoscleroma diagnosis, confirmed by biopsy.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Biopsy or pathology records confirming rhinoscleroma
Functional impact examples
A documented, confirmed rhinoscleroma diagnosis.
Common misconceptions
Some veterans and representatives assume rhinoscleroma is rated under DC 6524 because the DBQ groups it with granulomatous conditions -- 38 CFR 4.97's actual text places it under DC 6523 instead.
Related topics
rhinoscleroma; DC 6523 vs DC 6524
Source context
38 CFR 4.97; 6523; Current DC 6523 educational pathway and highest listed schedular percentage.
DC 6523 -- 10%
Next: 50%
Permanent hypertrophy of turbinates, with greater than 50-percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side.
What separates the next level: The 50% tier requires documented rhinoscleroma instead.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Permanent hypertrophy of turbinates and with greater than 50-percent obstruction of nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side.
Qualification explanation
A single, bundled criterion distinct from rhinoscleroma.
Examples
Records document permanent turbinate hypertrophy with 70 percent bilateral obstruction.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Examination records documenting turbinate hypertrophy and obstruction percentage
Functional impact examples
Documented permanent turbinate changes with significant nasal airflow obstruction.
Common misconceptions
This is the lowest listed DC 6523 tier -- there is no explicit 0 percent row.
Related topics
turbinate hypertrophy; nasal obstruction
Source context
38 CFR 4.97; 6523; Current DC 6523 educational pathway and lowest listed schedular percentage.
Percentage Guides
Understanding Your Percentage -- Granulomatous Rhinitis (DC 6524)
Select a pathway to see what the published criteria ask about, what records may clarify it, and what should not be assumed.
DC 6524 -- 100%
Highest listed pathway
Wegener's granulomatosis or lethal midline granuloma is documented.
What separates the next level: The 20% tier requires another type of granulomatous infection instead -- NOT rhinoscleroma, which is rated under DC 6523.
A single, self-contained criterion covering either named condition.
Examples
Records document a confirmed Wegener's granulomatosis diagnosis.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Biopsy, pathology, or specialist records confirming diagnosis
Functional impact examples
A documented, confirmed severe systemic granulomatous disease.
Common misconceptions
Rhinoscleroma is NOT an alternative path to this tier, despite the public DBQ's own checkbox grouping -- it belongs to DC 6523 instead.
Related topics
Wegener's granulomatosis; lethal midline granuloma; DC 6523 vs DC 6524
Source context
38 CFR 4.97; 6524; Current DC 6524 educational pathway and highest listed schedular percentage.
DC 6524 -- 20%
Next: 100%
Another type of granulomatous infection is documented (not Wegener's granulomatosis, lethal midline granuloma, or rhinoscleroma).
What separates the next level: The 100% tier requires Wegener's granulomatosis or lethal midline granuloma specifically.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Other types of granulomatous infection.
Qualification explanation
A residual criterion for granulomatous infections other than the two named at the 100 percent tier, and other than rhinoscleroma, which belongs to DC 6523.
Examples
Records document a confirmed granulomatous infection that is not Wegener's granulomatosis, lethal midline granuloma, or rhinoscleroma.
Medical evidence
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; Biopsy, pathology, or specialist records confirming diagnosis
Functional impact examples
A documented, confirmed granulomatous infection of a type other than the two named severe conditions.
Common misconceptions
This is the lowest listed DC 6524 tier -- there is no explicit 0 or 10 percent row. Rhinoscleroma is never evaluated here; see DC 6523.
Related topics
granulomatous infection; DC 6523 vs DC 6524
Source context
38 CFR 4.97; 6524; Current DC 6524 educational pathway and lowest listed schedular percentage.
Learn
Understand the details behind the criteria
Use these short guides to connect published terms with the records and observations that may clarify them.
Why pansinusitis, ethmoid, frontal, maxillary, and sphenoid sinusitis share one table
DC 6510 (pansinusitis), DC 6511 (ethmoid), DC 6512 (frontal), DC 6513 (maxillary), and DC 6514 (sphenoid) sinusitis are five separate diagnostic codes that use textually identical rating criteria -- the General Rating Formula for Sinusitis. Confirming this directly against the live regulation (rather than assuming five diagnoses meant five different tables) is what allows RatingScope to evaluate all five with one shared ladder.
The 50/30/10/0 percent tier language for all five codes is word-for-word identical: the same surgical/osteomyelitis, near-constant symptom, incapacitating-episode, non-incapacitating-episode, and X-ray-only criteria apply regardless of which of the five sinus locations is documented.
This does not mean the five diagnoses are interchangeable medically -- it means VA rates their severity the same way once a specific sinus diagnosis is confirmed.
Each of the 50, 30, and 10 percent tiers has two independent alternative paths (for example, surgical history OR the bundled severe symptom pattern at the 50 percent tier) -- meeting either path alone is sufficient.
Because the five diagnoses share this identical criteria table, a veteran documented with more than one of them (for example, both maxillary and frontal sinusitis) from the same underlying episode or symptom findings cannot be compensated twice for those same findings under separate diagnostic codes -- 38 CFR 4.14's rule against pyramiding applies. RatingScope discloses this real risk for co-diagnosed veterans; it does not make the case-specific determination of which findings, if any, are genuinely separable.
Records to review: Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; imaging results; treatment records.
Rhinoscleroma is rated under DC 6523, not DC 6524 (a DBQ layout mismatch)
The public VA Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ groups rhinoscleroma under a granulomatous-conditions checkbox alongside Wegener's granulomatosis and lethal midline granuloma (DC 6524's own criteria). But 38 CFR 4.97's actual regulatory text places rhinoscleroma inside DC 6523 (bacterial rhinitis) instead.
This is a real, easy-to-miss mismatch between how the intake form is organized and how the underlying regulation actually assigns the criterion -- the DBQ's checkbox grouping does not reclassify rhinoscleroma into DC 6524.
RatingScope's evaluator logic, registry rows, and intake pathway all route a documented rhinoscleroma finding to DC 6523's 50 percent tier only, never to any DC 6524 flag or case ID.
If your own records or a prior review referred to rhinoscleroma as a 'granulomatous condition' finding, that description is medically accurate but does not change which diagnostic code number applies for VA rating purposes.
Records to review: Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; biopsy or pathology records confirming rhinoscleroma.
A pending rulemaking may eventually reorganize this schedule (not yet finalized)
RIN 2900-AQ72 is an active VA rulemaking that may relocate the entire DC 6502-6524 bundle (this hub's eight codes, plus the deferred nasal-structural and larynx/pharynx codes elsewhere in section 4.97) to section 4.87, and would fold sinusitis and DC 6522 into a new 'Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS)/Recurrent Acute Rhinosinusitis (RARS)' formula at the same rating levels (50/30/10/0 percent) but with rewritten terminology. DC 6523 and DC 6524 would be substantively revised under the proposal, not just renumbered.
As of this hub's current sourcing, the live regulation is unchanged: all eight diagnostic codes in this hub remain exactly as described here, under 38 CFR 4.97, not 4.87.
The proposed CRS/RARS formula for sinusitis and DC 6522 would preserve the same four percentage levels, but the underlying clinical language (and possibly the episode-counting mechanics) would differ from the current text -- RatingScope does not assume the new wording in advance.
The proposal's changes to DC 6523 (bacterial rhinitis) and DC 6524 (granulomatous rhinitis) go beyond renumbering -- they are described as substantive revisions in the rulemaking's own public materials, which this hub does not attempt to anticipate.
RatingScope will revisit this disclosure and rebuild this hub's criteria if the rule is finalized, rather than guessing its eventual text now.
This rulemaking is the same one disclosed in the Trachea/Bronchi hub (RIN 2900-AQ72), where its scope was initially uncertain; RSCH-025 confirmed the full DC 6502-6524 relocation scope specifically covers this hub's codes.
Records to review: Federal Register rulemaking history.
Common sinusitis/rhinitis evidence
Sinusitis and rhinitis evidence is strongest when different records describe the same confirmed pattern consistently across diagnosis, imaging, episode frequency, and examination findings.
Medical records can document diagnosis, imaging results (X-ray or CT), episode frequency, and examination findings such as obstruction percentage or turbinate condition.
The Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ organizes findings for all eight diagnoses in this hub.
For sinusitis specifically, treatment records documenting incapacitating versus non-incapacitating episode counts and antibiotic course duration are especially important, since the shared ladder depends on more than imaging alone.
No single record automatically determines a percentage; the confirmed, documented pattern across the applicable diagnosis's specific findings matters.
Records to review: medical records; Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; imaging results.
How to read the Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ
The public Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ maps closely to all eight diagnoses in this hub, though its granulomatous-conditions checkbox groups rhinoscleroma with DC 6524's own criteria despite the regulation placing it under DC 6523.
Its sinusitis section fields (surgical history, incapacitating/non-incapacitating episode counts, imaging findings) map directly to the shared DC 6510-6514 ladder.
Its rhinitis section fields (polyps, obstruction percentage, turbinate hypertrophy) map to DC 6522 and DC 6523.
Its granulomatous-conditions checkbox groups Wegener's granulomatosis, lethal midline granuloma, other granulomatous infection, AND rhinoscleroma together -- but only the first three belong to DC 6524; rhinoscleroma is DC 6523's own criterion despite sharing this checkbox group.
The examiner gathers evidence; the examiner does not issue the final benefits decision.
Records to review: Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; C&P examination; treatment history.
Evidence
Evidence that may clarify the published criteria
Medical and treatment records
May document diagnosis, episode frequency, surgical history, and examination findings for the applicable diagnosis.
Diagnosis or treatment alone does not establish a percentage without the applicable diagnosis's specific documented findings.
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx Disability Benefits Questionnaire
Organizes diagnosis, surgical history, episode frequency, and (for rhinitis) obstruction percentage and turbinate findings.
A DBQ organizes evidence but does not issue the final VA decision. Its checkbox grouping does not change which diagnostic code number a finding like rhinoscleroma is rated under.
Imaging results (X-ray, CT)
The primary basis for the sinusitis ladder's 0 percent tier, and supporting evidence for confirming a sinus diagnosis at any tier.
Imaging alone, without episode-frequency or symptom-severity documentation, supports only the 0 percent tier.
Official VA Forms & DBQs
Downloadable DBQs & Supporting Claim Forms
Take the public DBQ to your private physician or review it prior to your C&P examination.
Terminology
Plain-English terms
Incapacitating episode
A sinus infection flare-up severe enough that a physician directs bedrest and provides treatment, not just a routine visit.
One of two independent alternative paths feeding the shared sinusitis ladder's 30 and 10 percent tiers.
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; treatment records documenting bedrest and physician care; non-incapacitating episode
A milder sinus flare-up with documented symptoms, but not severe enough to require prescribed bedrest.
The second of two independent alternative paths feeding the shared sinusitis ladder's 30 and 10 percent tiers, requiring a higher episode count than the incapacitating path (more than six for 30 percent, three to six for 10 percent).
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; treatment records documenting symptom episodes; incapacitating episode
A specific, uncommon bacterial infection affecting the nose, distinct from Wegener's granulomatosis and lethal midline granuloma even though the public DBQ groups them under the same checkbox.
The higher of DC 6523's two criteria (50 percent). It is never evaluated under DC 6524 (granulomatous rhinitis), regardless of DBQ layout.
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ; biopsy or pathology records; rhinoscleroma-dc6523-not-dc6524
Even if the schedular rating for Sinusitis and Rhinitis does not reach 100 percent, TDIU may still provide a pathway to compensation at the 100 percent rate, based on unemployability from this and/or other service-connected disabilities combined.
A lower schedular percentage does not by itself foreclose TDIU eligibility -- this hub computes only the schedular percentage for this specific condition and does not determine TDIU eligibility.
How does VA rate pansinusitis, ethmoid, frontal, maxillary, or sphenoid sinusitis?
VA uses Diagnostic Codes 6510, 6511, 6512, 6513, and 6514, which share a textually identical 4-tier General Rating Formula for Sinusitis (50/30/10/0 percent) based on surgical history, near-constant symptoms, incapacitating or non-incapacitating episode counts, and (at the 0 percent tier) X-ray-only detection.
Why do the five sinusitis diagnostic codes share the same table?
DC 6510-6514's rating text is word-for-word identical across all five sinus locations. Because the tables are identical, a veteran documented with more than one of these five sinus diagnoses from the same underlying episode or symptom findings cannot be compensated twice for those findings under separate diagnostic codes -- 38 CFR 4.14's rule against pyramiding applies, disclosed here rather than resolved case by case.
How does VA rate allergic or vasomotor rhinitis?
VA uses Diagnostic Code 6522, a 2-tier table: 30 percent with nasal polyps, or 10 percent without polyps but with severe nasal obstruction. There is no listed 0 percent tier.
How does VA rate bacterial rhinitis?
VA uses Diagnostic Code 6523, a 2-tier table: 50 percent for rhinoscleroma, or 10 percent for permanent turbinate hypertrophy with severe nasal obstruction. There is no listed 0 percent tier.
How does VA rate granulomatous rhinitis?
VA uses Diagnostic Code 6524, a 2-tier table: 100 percent for Wegener's granulomatosis or lethal midline granuloma, or 20 percent for other types of granulomatous infection. There is no listed 0 or 10 percent tier.
Is rhinoscleroma rated under DC 6523 or DC 6524?
DC 6523 (bacterial rhinitis), per 38 CFR 4.97's actual text -- even though the public Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ groups rhinoscleroma under a granulomatous-conditions checkbox alongside DC 6524's Wegener's granulomatosis and lethal midline granuloma criteria. RatingScope always evaluates rhinoscleroma under DC 6523.
Could this schedule change soon?
A pending rulemaking (RIN 2900-AQ72) may eventually relocate this entire DC 6502-6524 bundle to section 4.87, folding sinusitis and DC 6522 into a new Chronic Rhinosinusitis/Recurrent Acute Rhinosinusitis formula at the same percentage levels but with rewritten terminology, and substantively revising DC 6523 and DC 6524. It is not yet finalized; the current regulation described here remains in effect.
What evidence commonly helps explain sinusitis/rhinitis severity?
A Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ, imaging results, and treatment records documenting episode frequency, surgical history, or obstruction findings may help explain the confirmed pattern. No single record automatically determines a percentage.
What happens during a sinus/nasal C&P exam?
The examiner may review diagnosis, imaging results, surgical history, episode frequency, and, where applicable, obstruction percentage or turbinate findings. The examination gathers information for VA; the examiner does not issue the final benefits decision.
If my schedular rating for Sinusitis and Rhinitis is below 100%, can I still be compensated at the 100% rate?
Possibly, through TDIU (Total Disability rating based on Individual Unemployability, 38 CFR 4.16) -- a separate pathway to 100 percent compensation based on unemployability, from this and/or other service-connected disabilities combined, independent of whether the schedular rating itself reaches 100 percent. This hub computes only the schedular percentage and does not determine TDIU eligibility.
What separates the 50% rating from adjacent levels?
The 30% tier uses episode-frequency counts (incapacitating or non-incapacitating) instead of surgical history or the bundled severe symptom pattern.
What separates the 30% rating from adjacent levels?
The 50% tier requires surgical/osteomyelitis history or the more severe near-constant symptom pattern instead. The 10% tier uses lower episode counts (one to two incapacitating, or three to six non-incapacitating).
What separates the 10% rating from adjacent levels?
The 30% tier requires higher episode counts instead (three or more incapacitating, or more than six non-incapacitating).
What separates the 0% rating from adjacent levels?
The 10% tier requires at least one or two incapacitating episodes, or three to six non-incapacitating episodes, documented beyond imaging alone.
Sinusitis/rhinitis and trachea/bronchus conditions are both upper- and lower-respiratory findings sometimes documented together, but each follows its own separate rating schedule under the same section 4.97.
Separate the question of any single diagnosis's current severity from the unfinalized, not-yet-applicable proposed reorganization of this schedule.
Ready when you are
Compare documented sinusitis/rhinitis findings
Use the diagnosis, episode-frequency, and examination language already documented in your records. Do not upload records or enter Social Security numbers, claim numbers, full dates of birth, or other sensitive identifiers. RatingScope does not infer missing findings.
Informational guidance only. RatingScope does not predict, decide, or guarantee VA outcomes.
Official VA form directory; the Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx DBQ's fields map closely to all eight current diagnoses in this hub, though its granulomatous checkbox groups rhinoscleroma with DC 6524's criteria despite the regulation placing it under DC 6523.
38 CFR 4.16 - Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability (TDIU)
Official source for TDIU, a separate pathway to 100 percent compensation based on unemployability, independent of the schedular percentage. This hub does not determine TDIU eligibility.
Conditions commonly connected to Sinusitis and Rhinitis
This reflects regulatory and clinical relationships already explained elsewhere on this site. It is not a diagnosis, not a prediction that you have or will develop a connected condition, and not personalized medical or legal advice.
Regulatory relationship
Sinusitis and Rhinitis Trachea and Bronchi
Sinusitis/rhinitis and trachea/bronchus conditions are both respiratory findings rated under 38 CFR 4.97 and sometimes documented together, but each follows its own separate rating schedule.