The Board has granted service connection for chronic headaches and found that the appellant's current condition is causally related to his in-service injury. The issue of increased rating for bilateral hearing loss prior to October 29, 2015, and in excess of 40 percent thereafter remains pending.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided a thorough review of the appellant's medical history, including service treatment records and post-service treatment records, and concluded that his current chronic headaches are causally related to the April 1986 La Belle discotheque bombing. The audiometric evaluations conducted in Germany were used to determine the severity of his bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 14, 2017
- Citation
- 1752037
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 1752037.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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