The Board has granted service connection for bilateral pes planus, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The Veteran's bilateral pes planus was aggravated during active duty service. His bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his in-service acoustic trauma.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's symptoms of aggravated flat feet condition during service, combined with his documented foot-related injury, established a presumption of aggravation. For his bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, the Board resolved reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran based on his statements and testimonies regarding acoustic trauma and symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral pes planus, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19185217
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 19185217.
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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