The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, right shoulder strain with arthritis, and left shoulder sprain with arthritis are related to service. The Board also found no evidence of a cardiovascular disability or hypertension with shortness of breath during service or within one year following discharge from service.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records show in-service noise exposure for bilateral hearing loss and physical work load for the shoulders, but no chronic conditions were noted. For the cardiovascular issues, there is no documented evidence of a current disability within one year post-discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Right Shoulder Strain with Arthritis, Left Shoulder Sprain with Arthritis, Sinus Tachycardia, Hypertension with Shortness of Breath
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2016
- Citation
- 1644143
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 1644143.
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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