The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to in-service noise exposure. The decision resolves doubt in favor of the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran had a current hearing loss disability and was exposed to loud noises during service, but the evidence against the claim included VA medical opinions stating there was no causal relationship between the current hearing loss and service. However, the Board gave significant weight to the Veteran's own physician's opinion linking his tinnitus and hearing loss to noise exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 28, 2021
- Citation
- 21032896
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 21032896.
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 granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability due to inadequate examination and reasoning.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to errors in providing notice of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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