The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and determined that new and material evidence has been received. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to be related to his in-service noise exposure, meeting VA's definition of a hearing loss disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. Service connection for PTSD with depressive disorder, NOS, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and neurological disabilities of the left upper extremity and both lower extremities is granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's reports of in-service noise exposure are credible and consistent with his military service as a maintenance technician. The February 2011 VA examination revealed pure tone thresholds meeting VA's definition of hearing loss under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385, and the September 2013 VA examiner noted significant threshold shifts due to military noise exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Depressive Disorder, NOS, Lumbar Spine Disability, Cervical Spine Disability, Neurological Disability of Left Upper Extremity, Neurological Disability of Both Lower Extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2017
- Citation
- 1719561
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 1719561.
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 claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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