The Board has granted service connection for right-ear hearing loss and left-ear hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's pre-existing conditions were aggravated during service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left-ear hearing loss was found to have been permanently aggravated beyond its natural progression during service due to exposure to hazardous noise in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing Loss in Right Ear, Left-ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19109497
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (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 19109497.
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 claims for service connection for right-ear hearing loss and an initial compensable rating for left-ear hearing loss, finding that there was no current disability in either ear as defined by VA standards.
- Denied
The Veteran's TDIU claim prior to October 28, 2019 was denied as his combined service-connected disability rating did not meet the schedular percentage thresholds for a TDIU and there is no evidence showing he was unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's hearing loss in the right ear is granted as service connection, with a finding that it is at least as likely as not caused by or a result of noise exposure during military service.,The Veteran's pre-existing hearing loss in the left ear is found to have been aggravated by service, and service connection for this condition is granted. The Board notes an increase in severity during service but does not find clear and unmistakable evidence that it was due to natural progression.,Service connection for tinnitus as secondary to bilateral hearing loss is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's combined rating has been at least 80% since August 2010 and at 90% since June 21, 2012. The Board finds that his service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as of June 21, 2012.
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