The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were related to his service, specifically noise exposure. The upper back disability was not diagnosed, and panic disorder was initially manifested during service.
The deciding factor: The VA determined that the veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were likely due to noise exposure in service, while the upper back condition had no documented history of injury or disease, and panic disorder was first noted during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Panic disorder, Tinnitus, Upper back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2004
- Citation
- 0404405
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 0404405.
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 depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder and discectomy with lumbar discogenic pain but granted a 20% initial rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy from April 18, 2023 through January 16, 2024. The service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss but granted for left knee Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD).
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
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