The Board has granted service connection for hearing loss of the left ear and assigned a 10% rating for gout of the left foot. The veteran's increased evaluation claim for hearing loss is denied.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established for hearing loss of the left ear due to noise exposure in service, and an initial compensable evaluation (10%) was granted for gout of the left foot based on limitation of motion and swelling.
- Claimed conditions
- hearing loss of the left ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 5, 2005
- Citation
- 0500168
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,599 · Granted: 37% (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 0500168.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claim for eligibility to enroll in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) is remanded due to insufficient evidence and lack of proper notice. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not result in a need for personal care services, but this determination was made without adequate medical justification or explanation.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hearing loss of the right ear and tinnitus, but denied it for the left ear.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to August 1, 2003, for service connection for vertigo based on clear and unmistakable error in a March 1995 rating decision. The Board found that service treatment records unavailable at the time of the 1995 decision were duplicative of records already considered and would not have manifestly changed the outcome.
- Partly granted
The veteran's service connection for hearing loss of the left ear and tinnitus was granted. The claim for an initial, compensable rating for right-ear hearing loss was remanded.
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