The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and low back disability are all granted. The claim for service connection for a left eye disability is dismissed, as the Veteran withdrew his appeal in October 2019. The claim for service connection for a right eye disability is also dismissed, with withdrawal of appeal by the Veteran in October 2019. Service connection for low back disability is granted, but remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding its relationship to service-connected bilateral lower extremity cold weather injuries.
The deciding factor: The Board found new and material evidence sufficient to reopen the claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as the claim for low back disability. Service connection was established based on the Veteran's reported symptoms and medical records showing onset during service. The remanded claim for low back disability requires additional evidence regarding its relationship to service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, low back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19190248
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19190248.
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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