The Board has granted service connection for left ear sensorineural hearing loss and ischemic heart disease, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to military noise exposure and herbicide agent exposure, respectively.,Service connection was established based on presumptive service connection due to exposure to herbicides during service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was a significant shift in hearing thresholds from entrance to separation, supporting the conclusion that left ear SNHL is attributable to military noise exposure. For ischemic heart disease, the Board concluded that the Veteran's current diagnosis of coronary artery disease, presumed due to herbicide agent exposure, supports service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear sensorineural hearing loss, ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20073352
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20073352.
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 a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is granted as presumptively related to his service in the Gulf War, specifically aboard the USS Chanticleer and USS Mataco.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a heart disability prior to his death is granted as he was entitled to accrued benefits due to the September 1994 claim, which included ischemic heart disease, a covered herbicide disease.
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