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Allergic rhinitis is ongoing inflammation of the nasal passages — congestion, sneezing, a runny or blocked nose — triggered by allergens or irritants. It is distinct from sinusitis and is rated under its own part of the VA schedule.
VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 6522
Allergic rhinitis — often called hay fever — is ongoing inflammation of the lining of the nose, with congestion, sneezing, and a runny or blocked nose, set off by allergens or irritants. The VA treats it as a ratable disability that is separate from sinusitis. As with most conditions, service connection follows the three-part test: a current diagnosis, an onset or cause during service, and a medical link between them (38 CFR § 3.303). Some veterans pursue it as secondary to another service-connected condition or to an environmental exposure.
The VA rates allergic (and vasomotor) rhinitis under Diagnostic Code 6522 (38 CFR § 4.97). There are two levels: 30 percent when there are nasal polyps, and 10 percent when there are no polyps but there is greater than 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides, or complete obstruction on one side. Because the rating turns on whether polyps are present and on measured airway obstruction, a VA examination that documents those findings tends to be central to how the condition is evaluated.
This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work — not legal advice, not a VA decision, and not a prediction about any individual claim. Outcomes depend on your own facts and evidence; a denial can be appealed.
Grounded in federal regulations and VA guidance, independently reviewed June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.
Across 12,513 real Board appeals for Allergic rhinitis
A denial is often not the end either — remands (shown below) are sent back for more development and can still end in a grant. These are historical outcomes, not a prediction of your case.
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Among the appeals that were granted or partly granted, the most common ways Allergic rhinitis was linked to service:
In appeals where Allergic rhinitis was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
These appeals involved a recognized exposure — which can mean the link to service is presumed, with no nexus to prove:
The Veteran's chronic headaches are granted as secondary to his service-connected allergic rhinitis. The left and right knee disabilities, sinusitis, tinea pedis, and sleep apnea are denied.
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance, leading to the grant of SMC based on aid and attendance.
The Board has granted service connection for sinusitis and rhinitis on a direct basis, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his active duty service, including exposure to environmental factors during Operation Desert Storm.
The Board has granted an initial rating of 10 percent for sinusitis, effective from the date of the September 2020 decision. The issue of entitlement to a compensable rating for allergic rhinitis is dismissed.
The Board has granted service connection for a perforated septum as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected allergic rhinitis.
The Veteran's service connection for allergic rhinitis was granted, and the Board found that her current diagnosis is presumptively related to her in-service exposure to fine particulate matter. The stroke disorder claim remains pending due to insufficient evidence.
Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
New decisions are added every week, and older years are actively being backfilled — a year that looks thin or missing here (especially 2011–2017) is a gap in our library, not in the Board’s decisions.
Veterans appealing Allergic rhinitis often look at outcomes for these too:
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.