The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are granted as service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran was exposed to noise in service, which is conceded, and his current hearing loss disability is at least as likely as not related to this exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran had a diagnosed disability (bilateral hearing loss), in-service noise exposure, and a nexus between the current disability and the in-service noise exposure. The tinnitus was found to be secondary to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss disability, bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19129368
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 an earlier effective date, service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and service connection for insomnia.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, except for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disability which were granted. The veteran was also granted service connection for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including tension headaches, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and a bilateral hearing loss disability. The Board also denied an initial compensable rating for the Veteran's headache disability.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for bilateral tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, resulting in their dismissal.
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