The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss is granted as his current disability and in-service acoustic trauma are linked.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran experienced acoustic trauma during service, had a credible lay statement of when he first noticed hearing loss, and private medical opinions supported this. The VA audiometric results were not considered conclusive evidence of hearing loss in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2019
- Citation
- A19000457
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 Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asbestosis, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was also denied a compensable rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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