The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is service-connected, as it was incurred during his active duty service. The issues of entitlement to service connection for sleep disorder disability and right shoulder disability are addressed in the REMAND portion of this decision.
The deciding factor: Service connection granted based on evidence showing exposure to combat noise and a standard threshold shift in hearing acuity during service, meeting VA's criteria for presumptive service connection due to acoustic trauma/blast injury from grenade explosion.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, sleep disorder disability, right shoulder disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2010
- Citation
- 1009997
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 1009997.
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 withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, as the evidence did not support higher ratings or service connection.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding it at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service noise exposure.
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