The Board has granted the Veteran's claim to reopen his previously denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Board also found that, based on the evidence of record, including VA and private medical opinions, there is at least equipoise in favor of a finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss is related to his in-service acoustic trauma. Service connection was not granted for thoracolumbar spine condition or cervical spine condition as there is no evidence linking these conditions to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss, which he contends is due to in-service acoustic trauma, and VA conceded this exposure, the medical opinions were not sufficiently probative to establish a nexus between his current hearing loss and service. For the thoracolumbar spine condition and cervical spine condition, there was no evidence of an in-service injury or incident that could be linked to these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, thoracolumbar spine condition (claimed as low back condition with spinal stenosis), cervical spine condition
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2020
- Citation
- 20040037
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 20040037.
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 bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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