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

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.