The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for hearing loss, and with resolution of all reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran, establishes that his bilateral high frequency (sensorineural) hearing loss is attributable to noise exposure during military service. The claim for a compensable rating for retraction of the left eardrum is denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence received since the January 1991 rating decision indicates the veteran has a bilateral high frequency (sensorineural) hearing loss consistent with noise exposure, and makes it at least as likely as not that his hearing loss was incurred in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2004
- Citation
- 0405161
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 0405161.
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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