The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for PTSD and bilateral hearing loss. Service connection is granted for tinnitus due to presumed exposure to acoustic trauma during active service, but the Veteran's claims for PTSD and bilateral hearing loss are denied as there is no evidence of a valid diagnosis related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran likely was exposed to significant in-service acoustic trauma while working as a field wireman. However, there is no credible evidence linking his current tinnitus to active service. For PTSD and bilateral hearing loss, the Board noted that the Veteran's claimed stressors are not corroborated by the VA Clinicians' evaluations and diagnoses do not meet criteria for a valid diagnosis of PTSD or bilateral hearing loss related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19188742
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (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 19188742.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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