The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right shoulder disorder has been granted. The appeal regarding bilateral hearing loss, right forearm disability (prior to January 26, 2018), and left eye disability is denied. A rating of 10 percent for the right forearm disability prior to January 26, 2018, was granted. For the period from January 26, 2018 onwards, a higher rating than 30 percent is not warranted. The claim for service connection for right ulnar nerve neuropathy and left eye disability remains pending.
The deciding factor: The Veteran submitted new evidence that raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claims for service connection for the right shoulder disorder. However, he does not currently have sensorineural hearing loss in either ear to an extent recognized as a disability for VA purposes. The right forearm disability was rated at 10 percent prior to January 26, 2018, and at 30 percent since then.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Disorder, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Right Forearm Disability (post foreign body excision), Right Ulnar Nerve Neuropathy, Left Eye Disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19133610
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (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 19133610.
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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