The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss is granted. The Board finds that the evidence supports a finding of in-service noise exposure and current hearing loss, resolving doubt in favor of the Veteran. Service connection for headaches is remanded due to conflicting medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no link between the Veteran's current hearing loss and service, but the private physician opined that it was at least as likely as not caused by service exposure. The Board finds doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2023
- Citation
- 23067890
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 23067890.
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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