The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected back disability is denied.,New and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus is granted.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not show that the Veteran's back disability approximates the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.,The August 2005 and February 2009 private medical records are new and material evidence since they were not previously considered in the last final prior decision and they relate to unestablished facts necessary to substantiate the claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's current hearing loss disability meets the VA definition of a hearing loss disability.,The February 2009 private medical records included a positive medical opinion linking in-service noise exposure to the current tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Bilateral Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2009
- Citation
- 0915831
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 0915831.
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 Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
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