The Board has granted special monthly compensation for the Veteran's need for aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities, including his cervical spine disability, right shoulder disabilities, left shoulder disabilities, radiculopathy of the upper right extremity, thoracic strain, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The Board also found that the Veteran is permanently housebound by reason of these service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran required assistance with activities of daily living due to his service-connected cervical spine disability, right shoulder disabilities, left shoulder disabilities, radiculopathy of the upper right extremity, thoracic strain, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The Board found this sufficient to meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on need for aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disability, Right shoulder disabilities, Left shoulder disabilities, Radiculopathy of the upper right extremity, Thoracic strain, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- October 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19176355
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 claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
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