The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not service-connected, but his claims for back condition, left shoulder DJD, and left elbow degenerative arthritis are all granted as they are considered to be directly related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA audiologist found no evidence of in-service noise exposure causing current hearing loss. However, the Veteran's history of post-military noise exposure from various sources was noted. The examiner concluded that his current bilateral sensorineural high-frequency hearing loss is less likely than not due to acoustic trauma or disease in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Deformity of L3 (claimed as back condition), DJD of the left shoulder, Degenerative arthritis of the left elbow
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2010
- Citation
- 1000199
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 1000199.
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 for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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