The Veteran's service connection claims for a low back disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus were granted based on the evidence showing that his current conditions are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The August 2008 VA examiner determined that the Veteran's low back disability is at least as likely as not related to his in-service duties involving heavy lifting. For hearing loss and tinnitus, the examiner concluded they were less likely than not caused by noise exposure during service due to normal hearing on separation and significant post-service noise exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disability (lumbar spondylosis and lumbar degenerative disc disease), Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- February 19, 2009
- Citation
- 0906234
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 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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