The Veteran's back disability is granted service connection.,The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity numbness (left and right leg disabilities) are granted secondary to his service-connected back disability.,The Veteran's tinnitus is granted service connection.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s back condition is related to his military service, and thus the benefit of the doubt is resolved in favor of the Veteran.,Both the May 2016 VA examination and the April 2020 private opinion related the Veteran's radiculopathy to his now service-connected back disability. Service connection on a secondary basis for the Veteran’s radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities is warranted.,The Veteran has offered competent evidence as to his history of tinnitus, and there is no evidence which tends to contradict his recollections. The Board resolves reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finds that he had continuous symptoms of tinnitus since service separation.,The VA examiner found that the Veteran did not then suffer from hearing loss for VA purposes and held that it was unrelated to his active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability, numbness in left leg/toes (left leg disability), numbness in right leg/toes (right leg disability), tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20030913
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 20030913.
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.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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