The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but denied service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to in-service noise exposure, while his SNHL is not considered to have been incurred during service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided a rationale that took into consideration the Veteran’s documented medical history of treatment for hearing loss and discussed the lack of any indications which would suggest that the Veteran manifested hearing loss in service.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19113598
Veterans Law Judge
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 19113598.
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.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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