The Board has granted the Veteran's claims to reopen his service connection for bilateral hearing loss and lumbar spine disorder. The appeals regarding increased ratings for atrial fibrillation, right ankle disorder, and right knee degenerative joint disease are remanded. The TDIU claim is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found new and material evidence in the Veteran's claims for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and lumbar spine disorder, thus granting their reopening. However, the appeals regarding increased ratings for atrial fibrillation, right ankle disorder, and right knee degenerative joint disease are not yet resolved as they require further examination or evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Lumbar Spine Disorder (Degenerative Disc Disease and Spinal Stenosis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20020001
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 20020001.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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