The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and an increased rating for post traumatic arthritis of the left shoulder have been granted. The claim for TDIU is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has met the criteria for current disability in all three issues (bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and post traumatic arthritis of the left shoulder) due to service-connected noise exposure. The increased rating for post traumatic arthritis of the left shoulder was granted as it more closely approximates the 30 percent schedular rating based on limitation of motion.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, post traumatic arthritis of the left shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- February 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19109238
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19109238.
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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