The Board found that the veteran's hearing loss preexisted service and worsened during his brief period of service, concluding that this worsening was due to the natural progression of the disorder.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran's hearing loss had worsened during service but could not be attributed to an in-service injury or event, leading to the conclusion that it was a result of the natural progression of his pre-existing condition.
- 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
- December 19, 2007
- Citation
- 0739954
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 0739954.
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 Veteran's appeal for increased SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(p) and higher rate of SMC based on the need for a higher level of aid and attendance under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(r)(2) is denied due to lack of eligibility for compensation at the maximum rate or intermediate rate authorized.
- Denied
The Veteran's defective hearing has been rated as noncompensable, and the Board found that his hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating based on audiometric testing results.
- Granted
The Board in 1956 incorrectly applied the presumption of soundness, leading to a denial of service connection for defective hearing. The Court reversed this decision and held that if the Board had correctly applied the law at the time, it would have found service connection due to the Veteran's preexisting condition worsening during service.
- Denied
The Veteran does not have service-connected defective hearing as his current hearing loss is not shown to be related to military service, including noise exposure.
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