The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, granted a 10% rating for the residuals of a traumatic crush injury to the fifth digit of the left hand, and denied an effective date prior to October 20, 2005, for the grant of service connection for tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no evidence of hearing loss during or within one year after service, and that the veteran's current hearing loss did not meet the criteria for a disability under VA regulations. The left fifth digit disability was rated at 10% based on the loss of sensation beyond the proximal interphalangeal joint. An earlier effective date for tinnitus was denied as no claim was received within one year after discharge or prior to October 20, 2005.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Residuals of a traumatic crush injury to the fifth digit of the left hand, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2009
- Citation
- 0904388
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
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