The Veteran's left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, and bilateral tinnitus were granted service connection. The Board found that the preexisting conditions worsened during service due to in-service noise exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner acknowledged post-service noise exposure but did not consider the use of proper ear protection by the Veteran, leading to a finding of aggravation of the preexisting hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- October 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19181355
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 appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of left ear hearing loss due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as an addendum opinion is necessary to address evidence of in-service hearing loss and convert audiometric testing results from ASA to ISO-ANSI standards.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for right ear hearing loss, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor based on a finding of etiological relation to in-service noise exposure.
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