The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are granted as service connected. The Veteran is also granted a 10 percent rating for his fractured nose, status-post septorhinoplasty.
The deciding factor: The VA Board found the evidence to be in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran’s current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were related to his military service, granting the claims based on the benefit of doubt. For the increased rating claim, the VA Board found that the Veteran's reports of difficulty breathing through his nose due to nasal obstruction nearly approximated the criteria for a 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passages on both sides or complete obstruction on one side.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, fractured nose
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18104143
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 18104143.
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.
- 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 service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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