The Veteran's heart condition is granted service connection as it was aggravated by his service-connected psychiatric condition. However, the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is denied as not related to service.
The deciding factor: The August 2019 VA examiner found that the Veteran’s current heart condition was at least as likely as not aggravated by his service-connected psychiatric condition, meeting the requirements for secondary service connection. For hearing loss, the May 2016 VA opinion stated there is no significant shift in hearing thresholds from entrance to separation and no complaints or treatment related to hearing loss during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart Condition, Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- April 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20023107
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 20023107.
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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