The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and left inguinal hernia, finding that the Veteran's hearing loss was aggravated by his military service. Service connection for right inguinal hernia is denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows a likely increase in the Veteran's hearing loss in service due to acoustic trauma exposure, shifting the burden to VA to establish any such increase was not beyond normal progression of the disease.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, inguinal hernia
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 15, 2014
- Citation
- 1441176
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 1441176.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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