The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The criteria for service connection have been met, and the Veteran is granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss. Additionally, the Board found that the Veteran is entitled to a compensable disability rating for his temporomandibular joint dysfunction prior to July 16, 1994, but not greater than 20 percent from July 16, 1994, to November 15, 2001, and not greater than 30 percent from November 15, 2001, to January 28, 2004.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss was previously denied in October 1982 due to lack of new and material evidence. The Board found that the additional evidence submitted since then is sufficient to reopen the claim and grant service connection based on a finding that the current disability is related to his period of active service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2009
- Citation
- 0942526
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 0942526.
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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