The Veteran's pre-existing left ear hearing loss was presumed to have been aggravated by service, and the Board finds that the presumption of aggravation has not been rebutted. Therefore, the claim for service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found an increase in severity of the Veteran's left ear hearing loss during service, which was considered a pre-existing condition. The Board concluded that the increase in severity could be attributed to service exposure and thus the presumption of aggravation has not been rebutted.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Ear Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2017
- Citation
- 1716254
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 1716254.
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 the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU with a September 19, 2024 effective date based on his PTSD, emphysema, and COPD symptoms. His diabetes, tinnitus, and left ear hearing loss were not found to prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 19, 2024.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to August 31, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased evaluations have been remanded due to the need for further evaluation. The effective dates for the grants of service connection are not being granted earlier than November 25, 2019.
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