The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability is attributable to his active service, while the left ear hearing loss disability did not manifest in-service or within one year of service and is not etiologically related to an event, injury, or disease in service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's right ear hearing loss was found to be caused by a perforation that likely occurred during service, which contributed to his current hearing loss. The left ear hearing loss disability could not be linked to service due to the lack of evidence showing it manifested within one year of separation and the absence of medical opinions linking it to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ear Hearing Loss, Left Ear Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- February 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19110987
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,030 · Granted: 17% (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 19110987.
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 of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU with a September 19, 2024 effective date based on his PTSD, emphysema, and COPD symptoms. His diabetes, tinnitus, and left ear hearing loss were not found to prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 19, 2024.
- Denied
The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability was not incurred in service and is less likely than not caused by noise exposure during his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to August 31, 2020.
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