The Veteran's hearing loss in the left ear is granted as service-connected. The right ear and lumbar spine conditions are remanded for further examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: Hearing loss in the left ear was found to be due to in-service noise exposure, while the right ear and lumbar spine conditions were not established as directly related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss in the left ear, Degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine at L4 -L5 (lumbar spine condition), Allergic rhinitis (sinus condition)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20037126
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 20037126.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss in the left ear as there is no evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria.
- Denied
The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is rated as Level I, which corresponds to a noncompensable rating. The Board denied the claim for an initial compensable rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran does not have a current disability of hearing loss in the left ear for VA purposes, and thus denied service connection. For the right ear, the Board found that there is no evidence to support a finding that the Veteran's hearing loss was incurred during service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for pre-existing hearing loss in both the right and left ears, finding that there was an increase in severity during service without clear and unmistakable evidence of natural progression. The Veteran's exposure to noise trauma while on active duty is acknowledged, as are his symptoms of hearing loss since discharge.
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