The Board has restored a 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected hearing loss, effective from September 1, 1971 to October 27, 2015. The reduction of this rating was found to be improper due to lack of observance of law and based on legal principles regarding chronic sensorineural hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The reduction of the disability rating for the service-connected hearing loss below 10 percent disabling was not proper as it was made without observance of the law, and sensorineural hearing loss is a permanent disability that cannot be improved or restored.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19120795
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19120795.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss as there is no current diagnosis of a bilateral hearing disability for VA purposes, and the Veteran did not have a hearing loss disability at any time during or recent to the filing of his claim.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, asthma, and foot conditions, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history throughout the appeal period.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss as there is no current diagnosis of a disability that meets VA's criteria for a disability.
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