The Board has reopened the claims of entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disability, left wrist disability, upper back disability, mid-to-low-back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right ankle disability, and PTSD. The Veteran's reports of inservice acoustic trauma are accepted as credible evidence of an in-service event. Service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The Board found the Veteran's statements regarding his inservice exposure to acoustic trauma and continuous ringing in his ears since service discharge to be credible.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD), diabetes mellitus, type II, hypertension, right eye disability, upper back disability, mid-to-low-back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right ankle disability, left ankle disability, right foot disability, left foot disability, gout of the left foot, left eye disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2015
- Citation
- 1544594
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 1544594.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
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