The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability and granted entitlement to an initial increased evaluation of 70 percent for PTSD. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and TDIU were not addressed as they are pending.
The deciding factor: New evidence was submitted that supported reopening the claim for service connection for a back disability, but no new evidence or changes in circumstances warranted reopening the claims for bilateral hearing loss or TDIU.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- January 19, 2006
- Citation
- 0601645
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,464 · Granted: 14% (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 0601645.
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 Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
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