The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is granted as service-connected.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral tinnitus and left ear hearing loss is denied.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for low back disability and radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities is remanded.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted based on a finding that right ear hearing loss is related to the Veteran's naval service, with reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for tinnitus and left ear hearing loss cannot be earlier than September 4, 2015, as this was when the initial claim was received.,A remand is required to determine if the low back disability and radiculopathy are related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss, Low back disability, Radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19162497
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,446 · Granted: 21% (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 19162497.
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 service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to insufficient evidence and need for additional examinations.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities is denied.
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