The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus and low back disability are related to his service, with the tinnitus likely due to acoustic trauma during combat in Vietnam and the low back disability linked to an incident involving a drop from a helicopter. The claim for service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The VA Compensation Examination found no evidence of noise exposure causing tinnitus in service but noted that the Veteran's account of acoustic trauma was consistent with his combat duty. For the low back disability, private medical records linked it to an incident involving a drop from a helicopter during service.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, low back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2010
- Citation
- 1014291
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 1014291.
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities to the AOJ for further development and consideration of evidence not previously considered.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches with an initial rating of 50 percent effective from August 10, 2022, and denied the claims for service connection for a right knee disability, obstructive sleep apnea, kidney disability, low back disability, and erectile dysfunction.
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