The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to his active military service. The bilateral hearing loss disability does not meet the criteria for a current disability as defined by VA regulations.
The deciding factor: The June 2010 VA examiner found that the Veteran's tinnitus was less likely than not related to his military service, but the Board finds the Veteran's lay testimony credible and competent regarding in-service noise exposure and onset of tinnitus. The Veteran is granted service connection for tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- {"conditionName":"tinnitus"}, {"conditionName":"bilateral hearing loss disability"}
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 22, 2016
- Citation
- 1637143
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 1637143.
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 sleep apnea is found to be proximately caused by his service-connected right papilloma. The Board finds the evidence does not support a grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and chronic sinusitis on a secondary basis.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus was found to be incurred in service. The bilateral hip and knee disabilities are not directly related to service, but may have been aggravated by the service-connected pes planus.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal of kidney cancer service connection was dismissed due to withdrawal. Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were found to be incurred as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability for VA purposes and denied his claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The issue of left knee strain is remanded as it requires additional development.
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