The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and lumbar spine degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease, both determined to be directly related to service. The claimant's tinnitus issue is pending.
The deciding factor: Service records show the appellant served during a time of war with an in-service injury that included back pain following a vehicle hit by a mine. His lay testimony supports his assertion of a back injury concurrent with other injuries, and he has satisfied the burden to establish service connection under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1154(b).
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss Disability, Lumbar Spine Degenerative Joint Disease and Degenerative Disc Disease (status post laminectomy and fusion)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- June 22, 2005
- Citation
- 0517039
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 0517039.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are related to his in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board has readjudicated the claims for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss disability, cervical spine disability, skin disability, and peripheral neuropathy of both upper extremities. The decision is mixed as some issues are granted while others are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to inadequate medical opinion in the original decision. The issues are being remanded for further examination and consideration of new evidence.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right foot disability is denied as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease that caused the current condition.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus are also denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not have these conditions during service, nor can they be presumed to have developed within one year after separation from service.,The Veteran's claims for tinnitus were denied as there is no credible evidence of its onset in service or a relationship to noise exposure.
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