The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, headaches, and right ankle disorder are denied. The claim for service connection for a right ankle disorder is granted as new and material evidence has been received.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support the appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to lack of diagnosed disability meeting VA criteria. For other conditions, the Veteran's lay statements were considered but outweighed by clinical findings and absence of worsening symptoms or diagnosed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, headaches, right ankle disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2021
- Citation
- 21069605
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 21069605.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- 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.
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