The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability is related to in-service acoustic trauma and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found that the Veteran’s current right ear hearing loss was less likely caused by military noise exposure, but the evidence demonstrated his exposure to acoustic trauma in-service caused his left ear hearing loss. The Board resolved reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran and granted service connection for the right ear hearing loss disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- A19003457
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 A19003457.
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 claim for a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss disability due to unreliable and inconsistent responses during audiometric testing.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus, but denied service connection for left ear hearing loss. The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is related to in-service noise exposure, while his tinnitus is not. His left ear hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a disability for VA purposes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and to obtain a new opinion regarding the service connection of various hearing loss disabilities, including residuals from an in-service injury. The Appellant's National Guard service is also being reviewed.
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