If you have more than one disability, the VA determines your monthly compensation based on the ratings for the combination of conditions. It does not just add up the two ratings. It uses a “whole person theory” to prevent your combined rating from exceeding 100 percent.
The VA uses a table to determine where ratings intersect. For example, if you have a lower back injury that is 40 percent disabling and hearing loss at 20 percent disabling, your combined rating in the VA table is 52 percent. It is rounded to the nearest 10 percent, so your final disability rating is 50 percent.
If you have more than two disabilities, the VA uses the above process to get a combined rating and uses the table again to add your third and other ratings.