The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disability as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lower back injury. The issues of entitlement to increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and radiculopathy, and TDIU are remanded.
The deciding factor: The February 2019 independent medical opinion established that the Veteran’s cervical spine disability was more likely than not secondary to his service-connected lower back injury.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disability (neck pain, stiffness), Bilateral hearing loss, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19176362
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.
- 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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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