The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to his in-service noise exposure. The right knee disability is also found to be at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected left knee disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided a negative etiological opinion regarding whether the right knee disability is caused by the service-connected left knee disability, but did not provide a rationale for this opinion. The September 2008 private opinion suggested that the Veteran's right knee osteoarthritis may be secondary to favoring his left knee.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of Multiple Joints, Eye Disability (including as secondary to cervical disc disease), Bilateral Hearing Loss, Bilateral Hand Disability, Right Knee Disability (including as secondary to left knee disability), Heart Disability (including as secondary to service-connected disabilities of the left knee and low back), Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 8, 2014
- Citation
- 1440064
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 1440064.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
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