The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his service, with a significant threshold shift observed during full-time service in the Air National Guard. Service connection for this condition is granted.,The Veteran reported tinnitus beginning around the early 1990s while serving full-time in the Air National Guard. The Board found that it was at least as likely as not caused by noise exposure during his military service, leading to a grant of service connection for tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's MOS had a low probability of hazardous noise exposure but experienced significant threshold shifts in hearing loss over time. The Board found the evidence in equipoise regarding whether the bilateral hearing loss was related to his military service, granting service connection based on this finding.,Tinnitus is highly correlated with cases of noise-induced hearing loss and can develop independently. Given the Veteran's reported onset near full-time service in the Air National Guard and significant threshold shifts observed over time, the Board concluded that tinnitus was likely caused by noise exposure during his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2023
- Citation
- A23037208
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 A23037208.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
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