The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and hypertension based on new evidence and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) finding of sufficient evidence of an association between exposure to Agent Orange and hypertension.
The deciding factor: The evidence is in approximate balance or greater that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and hypertension are etiologically related to his active-duty service, including exposure to hazardous noise and herbicide agents during his Vietnam tour.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 13, 2025
- Citation
- A25023562
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,893 · Granted: 31% (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 A25023562.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
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