The Veteran's bilateral otitis externa was found to have its onset during service and has persisted, warranting service connection.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran had a chronic disability (bilateral otitis externa) that began during service and has continued since then, establishing continuity of symptomatology.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral otitis externa
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2011
- Citation
- 1117589
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1117589.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for skin cancer and assigned a 40 percent disability rating for left shoulder strain, while denying service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, flatfoot bilateral, erectile dysfunction, and other conditions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the motion to revise a November 1976 rating decision that granted service connection for bilateral otitis externa with a noncompensable rating on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE).
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the remand instructions were not fulfilled and this matter must be returned for further development, including securing an adequate VA examination and opinion regarding the etiology of bilateral hearing loss.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine, left ankle deltoid ligament sprain, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, bilateral otitis externa, eczema, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain with osteoarthritis, tinnitus, left varicocele, and cystitis, render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
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