The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to be related to noise exposure in service, and he is granted service connection for this condition. As for tinnitus, a rating higher than 10 percent is not warranted, and an earlier effective date for service connection is denied.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was due to noise exposure during his military service, which established service connection under direct service connection criteria. For tinnitus, the Board found no evidence of new or material evidence to reopen the claim and concluded that a higher rating than 10 percent is not warranted based on the current schedular criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 10, 2009
- Citation
- 0929787
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 0929787.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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