The Board has determined that new and material evidence was submitted to reopen the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for chronic bilateral hearing loss disability and chronic tinnitus. The veteran's service records do not show any specific mention of these conditions, but both are linked to his reported noise exposure during military service.,For chronic bilateral hearing loss disability, the Board found that the evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether it was incurred due to military noise exposure, and thus granted service connection. For chronic tinnitus, the Board concluded that there is insufficient evidence linking it directly to military service.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for both conditions are supported by his reported history of noise exposure during active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic bilateral hearing loss disability, chronic tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 19, 2008
- Citation
- 0805613
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 0805613.
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 Board has granted service connection for chronic tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis of tinnitus is related to her military service despite conflicting reports from her VA and private physicians. The decision resolves reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic tinnitus did not manifest during service or within one year of discharge, and is unrelated to his period of active duty. The VA examiner opined that it is least likely as not related to noise exposure in service.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic tinnitus did not manifest during service or within one year of discharge, and is unrelated to any noise exposure during active duty service. The claim for service connection for tinnitus is denied.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and chronic tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by service, as there was no evidence of a nexus between his current conditions and his military service. The Board also noted that the Veteran did not have a hearing loss disability for VA purposes at any time.
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