The Board has determined that the veteran's left eardrum perforation and resulting scarring are service-connected.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports the veteran's claim, including his reported history of military noise exposure and service as a small arms mechanic, which suggests the perforation was caused by impact noise in service.
- Claimed conditions
- left eardrum perforation, left tympanic membrane scarring
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 2, 2006
- Citation
- 0602969
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (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 0602969.
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 has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss with residuals of a left eardrum perforation, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between his current hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected duodenal ulcer, left external otitis, and left eardrum perforation did not contribute to his death. The self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head was not related to a psychiatric disorder incurred in service or alcoholism resulting from such a disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is found to have contributed substantially or materially to his death from acute myocardial infarction. Service connection for the cause of death is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.