The Board found that the veteran's right ear disorder, including postoperative residuals of atticotomy, antropotomy, tympanoplasty, and ossicular reconstruction, was incurred in active service due to a mortar blast injury. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The VA surgeon opined that the right ear clinical picture was consistent with implosion cholesteatoma based on the veteran's account of a combat-related injury during service.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic acquired right ear disorder including postoperative residuals of atticotomy, antropotomy, tympanoplasty, and ossicular reconstruction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 9, 2004
- Citation
- 0403580
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 999 · Granted: 31% (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 0403580.
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
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