The Board has granted service connection for sinusitis and left ankle disability, and has awarded a 60% rating for bilateral hearing loss. The claim for increased rating of bilateral hearing loss is granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's preexisting conditions were aggravated during service, leading to the grant of service connection for sinusitis. His left ankle condition was found to have its onset during service and is considered direct service connection. For his bilateral hearing loss, the Board determined that a 60% rating is warranted based on the percentage evaluations from VA audiological examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- sinusitis, left ankle disability, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- January 3, 2023
- Citation
- 23000214
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,037 · Granted: 21% (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 23000214.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
- 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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