The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are at least as likely as not related to his active duty service. The remaining issues of entitlement to service connection have been referred back to the AOJ for further development.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on a preponderance of evidence showing a link between the Veteran's current conditions and his military service, specifically noise exposure during service which is presumed to cause hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Disability of the Right Middle Finger, Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Kaposi's Sarcoma, Respiratory Disorder, Sleep Apnea, Scar on the Nose
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 7, 2016
- Citation
- 1627011
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 1627011.
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.
- 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 Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
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