The veteran's appeal for a compensable disability rating for his service-connected bilateral otitis externa has been granted. The RO is required to use the correct diagnostic criteria and re-adjudicate the claim using these criteria.
The deciding factor: The VA Regional Office (RO) failed to provide the veteran with the appropriate rating criteria and did not adjudicate the claim using Diagnostic Code 6210, which was the most appropriate for evaluating otitis externa prior to a change in its title in June 1999.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral otitis externa
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2003
- Citation
- 0334055
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 0334055.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for skin cancer and assigned a 40 percent disability rating for left shoulder strain, while denying service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, flatfoot bilateral, erectile dysfunction, and other conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the motion to revise a November 1976 rating decision that granted service connection for bilateral otitis externa with a noncompensable rating on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the remand instructions were not fulfilled and this matter must be returned for further development, including securing an adequate VA examination and opinion regarding the etiology of bilateral hearing loss.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine, left ankle deltoid ligament sprain, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, bilateral otitis externa, eczema, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain with osteoarthritis, tinnitus, left varicocele, and cystitis, render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
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