The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The decision found that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to in-service noise exposure, while his bilateral hearing loss did not meet VA criteria for a disability.
The deciding factor: The April 2019 VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's tinnitus was likely due to his in-service noise exposure and provided competent evidence supporting this conclusion. For hearing loss, there were no clinically valid audiological examinations showing auditory thresholds of 40 decibels or greater at any of the prescribed frequencies or speech recognition scores of less than 94 percent in either ear.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2023
- Citation
- A23035657
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 A23035657.
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.
- 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 service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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