How Does the VA Rate Reactive Airway Disease?

Reactive Airway Disease is a term coined decades ago to describe asthma-like conditions, especially when providers hesitate to label the condition definitively. Veterans may be eligible for service-connected benefits for reactive airway diseases they can link to their service, but they must meet the rating criteria for a specific respiratory condition. 

The Reactive Airway Diseases Affecting Veterans

These conditions cause the airways in your lungs to become sensitive or over-reactive. This means that they react strongly when you are exposed to things like smoke, dust, or other airborne irritants. The reaction can cause the airways to swell and narrow, making it difficult to breathe. Some common symptoms of a reactive airway disease include:

• Wheezing or a whistling sound when breathing
• Tightness in the chest with wheezing, coughing, or other difficulty breathing.
• Repeated episodes of bronchial spasms (a sudden constriction and relaxation of the muscles that line the airways) with choking sensation and high fever
• Chronic or severe coughing that produces large amounts of mucus
• Fatigue
• Inability to exercise or participate in physical activity

If you get a disability rating for a condition considered a reactive airway disease, the severity of your symptoms will determine the level of benefits you receive.

Common Reactive Airway Diseases

The condition typically described as reactive airway disease is asthma, but other airway diseases may be confused with it or overlap. Each condition has its own VA diagnostic code under 38 C.F.R. § 4.97:

• Asthma: a chronic disease that affects the airways in your lungs. It makes it difficult to breathe and can cause wheezing coughing, and chest tightness. 
• Bronchitis: a condition that causes the airways in your lungs to become inflamed and irritated. This can lead to a cough, chest congestion, and shortness of breath. 
• Emphysema: a serious lung disease that damages the air sacs in your lungs. This makes it difficult to breathe and can cause coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness. 
• Bronchiectasis:  is a long-term or chronic disease that causes inflammation and damage to the airways. This can lead to a persistent cough, chest congestion, and shortness of breath. 

Service Connecting Reactive Airway Diseases 

To receive VA disability benefits for your reactive airway disease, you must first show that you have the condition. This can be done with a diagnosis from your doctor or other medical evidence. Keep in mind that the diagnosis must be medically recognized and not merely a descriptive term like “reactive airway disease”. 

You will then have to show that your disease is connected to your time in service. You will need evidence of an injury or environmental hazard exposure while in service and a medical opinion (nexus) stating that your reactive airway disease is at least as likely as not related to this incident. If your condition is on the VA’s presumptive list (see below), the nexus requirement may be waived. 

VA adjudicators require competent medical evidence to establish the nexus and veterans should submit private medical opinions if VA exams are unfavorable. 

Don’t give up if you’ve been denied benefits for reactive airway disease. We have years of experience fighting for the benefits our veterans deserve, and a 96% success rate. We are ready to fight for you too. Contact us today for a free case evaluation if you have an active rating decision you disagree with. 

Burn Pits and the VA Presumption

During the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, and throughout Southwest Asia, the military used burn pits for waste disposal, which released toxic smoke containing metals, chemicals, and carcinogens. 

Under the PACT Act, VA now presumes service connection for several respiratory diseases related to burn pit exposure, including asthma (diagnosed after service), chronic bronchitis, COPD and emphysema. This means eligible veterans with qualifying service do not need to prove a medical nexus for these conditions – the connection is legally presumed. 

Secondary Service Connection and Aggravation

Reactive airway disease may also be secondary to other service-connected conditions, such as: 

• GERD causing aspiration-related asthma 
• Rhinitis or sinusitis leading to bronchial hyperreactivity 

If the reactive airway disease is aggravated by a service-connected disability, the veteran may be entitled to compensation for the aggravated portion of the disease. 

What Is the VA Disability Rating for Reactive Airway Disease? 

Reactive airway disease is typically rated under the criteria for bronchial asthma (diagnostic code 6602), with ratings ranging from 10% to 100%, based on PFT results, medication use, and frequency of attacks. 

• 10% VA rating: Your FEV-1 is between 71 and 80 percent predicted. OR Your FEV-1/FVC is between 71 and 80 percent. OR You need intermittent inhalation or oral bronchodilator therapy . 
• 30% VA rating: If your FEV-1 is between 56 and 70 percent predicted, or your FEV-1/FVC is between 56 and 70 percent, or; daily inhalational or oral bronchodilator therapy, or; inhalational anti-inflammatory medication. 
• 60% VA rating: If your FEV-1 is between 40% and 55% predicted, OR if your FEV-1/FVC is between 40% and 55%, OR if you require monthly visits to a doctor for needed care of exacerbations, OR if you have intermittent courses of systemic corticosteroids three times a year or more. 
• 100% VA rating: Your FEV-1 is less than 40% predicted; or; FEV-1/FVC less than 40 percent, or; more than one attack per week with episodes of respiratory failure, or; you need to take  daily systemic (oral or parenteral) high dose corticosteroids or immuno-suppressive medications  

Can I Get a Higher Rating? 

Yes! Even if you don’t qualify for a higher rating based on the reactive airway disease itself, you can increase your total combined rating (and monthly compensation) by claiming secondary conditions related to RAD: sleep apnea, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, etc. You may also be eligible for unemployability benefits. Talk to us about your situation and disabilities – we’ll point you in the right direction even if we don’t take your case. 

VA Unemployability for Reactive Airway Disease 

If your service-connected condition prevents you from working, you may qualify for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability. This allows veterans to be compensated at the 100% rate if their disabilities keep them from maintaining substantially gainful employment, even if their standard rating is less than 100%. To qualify: 

• The veteran must have at least one condition rated 60% or more, or multiple conditions with a combined rating of 70%, with one rated at least 40%. 
• Alternatively, TDIU may be awarded if those percentages aren’t met but the veteran still cannot work due to their condition. 

TDIU is often difficult to prove, requiring specific evidence from healthcare providers and from the employer. If you believe you meet the criteria for TDIU but the VA has denied you, our TDIU lawyers may be able to assist you. 

How to Win Your RAD Rating

• Get a Specific Diagnosis: “Reactive Airway Disease” alone is not enough. 
• Gather Service Records: Duty stations, MOS, and deployment history are critical, especially for PACT Act claims. 
• Include a Medical Nexus Opinion: Unless your condition is presumptive, this is mandatory. 
• Submit Lay Statements: You and those around you can describe the onset and severity of symptoms. 
• Use Private Pulmonary Test Results: These may offer stronger evidence than VA exams. 
• Meet VA Requirements and Deadlines: Many cases are denied simply due to procedural issues, not merit.