The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are causally related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's duties as an Armor Intelligence Specialist during his period of active service, in-service noise exposure to high caliber machine guns and other munitions without being issued hearing protection, submitted medical treatise evidence concerning noise-induced hearing loss, the findings of bilateral tinnitus as well as bilateral hearing loss under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385 during the appeal period, the equally probative medical opinions in the January 2019 private otolaryngologist statement as well as the February 2015 VA examination report, and the competent and credible lay assertions of record, to be sufficient evidence to establish service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19135687
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 19135687.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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