The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and shoulder disabilities are all found to be related to his active service. The right ear hearing loss is determined to have been aggravated by service, while the left ear hearing loss is presumed to have been caused by service. Tinnitus is also found to be related to service. For the shoulders, it is established that they were caused by service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current disabilities are found to be due to his active military service based on credible evidence of in-service noise exposure and/or physical strain.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Right Shoulder Disability, Left Shoulder Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2016
- Citation
- 1634066
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 1634066.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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