The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to his active military service. However, there is no evidence of a current hearing loss disability in the right ear for VA purposes and left ear hearing loss is not shown to be related to service.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted for tinnitus due to credible lay testimony and medical opinion linking it to service. For right ear hearing loss, the Veteran did not have qualifying hearing loss at separation or within one year of separation. Left ear hearing loss was not shown to be related to service based on lack of in-service onset and no current disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Tinnitus, Left Ear Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2016
- Citation
- 1648221
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 1648221.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
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