The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been reopened and granted. The Board found that the Veteran had current bilateral hearing loss, but it did not begin during service or was otherwise related to an in-service injury.,Service connection for PTSD was granted based on a corroborated in-service stressor involving a jet crash. The Veteran's presence at NAS Miramar during this time sufficiently corroborates his reported stressor.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence did not support finding that the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss began during service or was related to an in-service injury, but it is currently diagnosed and granted as a disability.,PTSD was granted based on a corroborated in-service stressor involving a jet crash. The Board found that the Veteran's presence at NAS Miramar sufficiently corroborated his reported stressor.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Psychiatric Disorder (Specifically diagnosed as PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19133027
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (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 19133027.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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