Written vet to vet by the team behind the Academy. No jargon, no outcome promises, no gimmicks — just the preparation standard we teach: accuracy and completeness, never exaggeration.
Plantar fasciitis got its own code in 2021 — why the 20% and 30% levels turn on treatment response rather than pain, why most claims land at 10% whether one foot or both, and how flat feet are rated differently under 5276.
Radiating nerve pain is rated separately from your spine — how Diagnostic Code 8520 sets the 10/20/40/60/80 levels, the wholly-sensory rule that holds most claims to 10–20% per limb, and the bilateral factor when both legs are involved.
In May 2024 the VA moved GERD to its own code and rebuilt the criteria around esophageal strictures, not heartburn — how the new 0/10/30/50/80 levels work, why the standard is stricter than the old hiatal-hernia rule, and what it means for a claim.
Hearing loss and tinnitus are two of the most-claimed conditions, yet the rating so often lands at 0% — how Diagnostic Code 6100, the Maryland CNC test, and Tables VI–VII turn your hearing test into a percentage, plus the 38 CFR 4.86 exception that can raise it.
Instability, limited bend, and limited straightening are three different codes, not one — how 5257, 5260, and 5261 are scored, why one knee can carry separate ratings that combine, and the bilateral factor when both knees are in.
The spine formula scores your lower back by forward flexion — how the 10/20/40 levels are set, why 40% is usually the ceiling, the IVDS bed-rest path to 60%, and why radiculopathy is rated separately on top.
Diagnostic Code 8100 rates migraines 0/10/30/50 on prostrating attacks — why 50% is the schedular ceiling, what separates 30% from 50%, the secondary-to-TBI angle, and where the proposed 2026 changes stand.
The General Rating Formula scores PTSD by occupational and social impairment, not a symptom checklist — here's what separates 50% from 70%, what a rating increase actually takes, and where the proposed 2026 mental-health changes stand.
Diagnostic Code 6260 pays a single 10% whether one ear rings or both — here's why, what evidence actually carries a tinnitus claim, the conditions veterans claim alongside it, and where the proposed rule change stands.
How Diagnostic Code 6847 works today: the 0/30/50/100 breakpoints, why a prescribed CPAP is the pivot to 50%, secondary claims and nexus, and what the proposed 2026 rule changes could mean.
Granted, denied, or deferred — plus the evidence list, the load-bearing denial sentence, the favorable findings most veterans skim past, and the one-year window to calendar the day the letter arrives.
Two 50% ratings don't combine to 100% — they combine to 80%. The whole-person formula in plain English, why veterans get stuck at 90%, and the bilateral factor that works in your favor.
The free, five-minute form that holds your place in line for up to a year while you prepare. What an Intent to File does, what it can't do, and how to file one this week.
The evidence that fills the gap your records left empty. What a lay witness can and can't say, the firsthand-specific-dated formula, and a simple structure to follow.
Most first claims don't struggle on the merits — they struggle on preparation. The nine preventable mistakes we see most, and how to avoid each one before you file.
The compensation and pension exam is often the most influential event in a claim. What examiners evaluate, how to describe symptoms accurately, and what never to do.
Still serving? What to document at 12 months, 6 months, and 90 days out — and the one advantage no separated veteran can ever get back.
Diagnosis, service connection, severity — the full inventory of documents that answer all three questions, and how to organize them so a stranger could follow your file.
Want the whole system in order? See the full Academy curriculum — two full courses — 184 lessons, every template included. Or start free with the readiness checklist.
Claims Academy