The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and granted a 10 percent rating for the scar on the right thumb status-post laceration prior to November 12, 2019. The Board also granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder from August 22, 2016.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the lack of evidence linking hearing loss to service and the presence of a painful scar that met the criteria for a 10 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 7804.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Scar on the right thumb, status-post laceration, Cognitive disorder, not otherwise specified (NOS), Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2022
- Citation
- 22001290
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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 bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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