The Board has granted service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability and denied service connection for residuals of cold injury to the lower extremities. The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is found to have onset in service, while there is no evidence of current residuals from his alleged cold injuries.
The deciding factor: The VA expert opinion supported by the Veteran's lay testimony established a link between noise exposure and sensorineural hearing loss in service, leading to service connection for this condition. However, there was insufficient medical evidence to support a diagnosis or current disability related to cold injury residuals.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear hearing loss disability, residuals of cold injury to the lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- April 10, 2013
- Citation
- 1311932
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 1311932.
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 claims for service connection have been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for left ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The Board has remanded the claims for service connection of left and right knee disabilities due to a lack of medical nexus opinions regarding pre-service conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's pre-existing condition is presumed, and the VA examiner needs to provide an opinion on whether the increase in severity of his hearing loss during service was clearly and unmistakably due to natural progression.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and hearing loss disability required hospitalization at a VA Medical Center for more than 21 days, leading to the grant of a temporary total evaluation. Service connection was also granted for left ear nerve damage.
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