Allergic rhinitis

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.