The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current disability is at least as likely as not caused by his military service. The claim for a back disability remains pending and will be remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's tinnitus is caused by or a result of military noise exposure, but did not find similar evidence regarding his bilateral hearing loss. The Board found this opinion to be in equipoise with the Veteran's statements and granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 17, 2015
- Citation
- 1530646
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 1530646.
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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