The veteran's hearing loss is service-connected, and his AHD was initially granted a noncompensable rating in November 1973. The Board found that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is of service origin due to noise exposure during military service. For AHD, the Board determined that the evidence did not meet the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 30 percent prior to January 12, 1998 under either the old or new rating criteria. However, effective January 3, 2003, the veteran's symptoms more nearly approximated a workload of 3 or less METS resulting in dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope, or left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of less than 30 percent. Therefore, a 100 percent evaluation was granted.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran's current hearing loss is service-connected due to noise exposure during military service and established as meeting VA standards for a hearing disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. For AHD, the Board determined that the evidence did not meet the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 30 percent prior to January 12, 1998 under either the old or new rating criteria. However, effective January 3, 2003, the veteran's symptoms more nearly approximated a workload of 3 or less METS resulting in dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope, or left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of less than 30 percent. Therefore, a 100 percent evaluation was granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease (AHD), Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- April 11, 2003
- Citation
- 0306988
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,613 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0306988.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss as there is no current diagnosis of a bilateral hearing disability for VA purposes, and the Veteran did not have a hearing loss disability at any time during or recent to the filing of his claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, asthma, and foot conditions, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history throughout the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss as there is no current diagnosis of a disability that meets VA's criteria for a disability.
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