The Veteran's hearing loss is granted as service connected, and his obstructive sleep apnea and chronic bronchitis are both found to have at least some portion of their onset in service. The Veteran's increased rating for chronic bronchitis is also granted.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established for bilateral hearing loss due to noise exposure during service. For the other conditions, the Board found that they were at least as likely as not caused by service based on the evidence of record and the benefit of doubt rule.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2012
- Citation
- 1206050
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 1206050.
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's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
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