The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are granted as service-connected, with the Board finding that they are related to in-service noise exposure.,Service connection for fibromyalgia is granted based on a presumptive basis due to the Veteran's service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has provided credible testimony regarding his in-service acoustic trauma and post-service symptoms, which have been linked by medical opinion to service. The Board found that these findings are sufficient to establish a link between current hearing loss and tinnitus and service.,Service connection for fibromyalgia is granted based on the presumption of undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness due to the Veteran's service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, fibromyalgia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19118919
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 19118919.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- 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.
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