The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and assigned a 10% disability rating effective from the date of claim. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not considered to be related to active service.,For the period prior to November 15, 2013, the Veteran was awarded an initial 20% disability rating for his lumbar spine disability and a 20% disability rating for associated right lower extremity radiculopathy. Effective from November 15, 2013, the Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40%. The Board also granted a maximum 40% disability rating for the Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The Veteran experienced acoustic trauma in service and has current symptoms of tinnitus. His bilateral hearing loss, however, did not manifest within one year post-service separation and is not shown to be related to active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Tinnitus, Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 24, 2015
- Citation
- 1536071
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1536071.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- 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 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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