The Board has decided to reopen the claim for service connection of hearing loss in the right ear and finds that new and material evidence has been received. The Veteran's testimony regarding exposure to acoustic trauma during combat duty is considered, along with a VA audiometric examination, which will determine if his current hearing loss is related to service.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence was found in the form of the Veteran's testimony about noise exposure during active duty and a VA physician's opinion linking his hearing loss to that exposure. The Board has decided to reopen the claim for service connection based on this new information.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss in the right ear
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 1, 2011
- Citation
- 1132262
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 1132262.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran does not have a current disability of hearing loss in the left ear for VA purposes, and thus denied service connection. For the right ear, the Board found that there is no evidence to support a finding that the Veteran's hearing loss was incurred during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, migraine headaches, tinnitus, hearing loss, and erectile dysfunction, precluded him from obtaining or maintaining a substantially gainful occupation prior to January 8, 2022. The Board has granted a TDIU effective from January 8, 2022 onward.
- Granted
The Veteran's hearing loss in his right ear was incurred during service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for pre-existing hearing loss in both the right and left ears, finding that there was an increase in severity during service without clear and unmistakable evidence of natural progression. The Veteran's exposure to noise trauma while on active duty is acknowledged, as are his symptoms of hearing loss since discharge.
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