The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his in-service noise exposure, and service connection for this condition is granted. The Board found no evidence of a low back disability, hypertension, or an acquired psychiatric disorder during service or within one year post-service, and thus denied these claims.
The deciding factor: The VA audiological examiner determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss was related to his in-service noise exposure, while the VA examiner for musculoskeletal issues found no evidence of a low back disability. The VA examiner for hypertension did not find any evidence of hypertension during service or within one year post-service and noted the Veteran's self-report of normal blood pressure at separation. For psychiatric claims, the VA examiner determined that there was no evidence of an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, low back disability, hypertension, acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 26, 2015
- Citation
- 1536480
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 1536480.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- 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 case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
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