The Board's May 1957 decision upholding the severance of service connection for defective hearing is overturned due to clear and unmistakable error, as the evidence clearly shows that the veteran's pre-existing hearing loss did not worsen during service.
The deciding factor: The Board failed to apply the presumption of aggravation in its May 1957 decision, which was outcome determinative.
- Claimed conditions
- Defective hearing
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2006
- Citation
- 0605487
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,582 · Granted: 32% (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 0605487.
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 service-connected disabilities, including defective hearing and shell fragment wounds, make it impossible for him to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The case is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining audiogram results from VA treatment records.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from obtaining or retaining substantially gainful employment. The Board finds that the Veteran is not unemployable due to his service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted a TDIU from July 28, 2010 to February 19, 2015 based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
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