The Board has reopened the veteran's claim and determined that his chronic bilateral otitis externa was incurred in service, granting service connection.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed a pre-existing condition of chronic ear problems prior to service, but also demonstrated worsening during service and continued after discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral chronic otitis externa
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2006
- Citation
- 0635352
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0635352.
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 remanded the cases for further development, including scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of the Veteran's left and right knee disabilities. The appeal remains pending.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and conducting examinations to evaluate the Veteran's knee and ear disabilities. The TDIU claim is also pending.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral otitis externa has been rated at 10 percent since April 3, 2013. The Board finds that the symptoms of itching and discharge warrant this rating for the entire appeal period.
- Granted
The Veteran is service-connected for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic otitis externa. The Board finds that his combined disability rating of 60% renders him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.
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