The Board granted the claims for service connection for right and left ear hearing loss disabilities based on an approximate balance of evidence regarding their etiological relationship to noise exposure during active duty service.
The deciding factor: The benefit of the doubt was given due to the approximate balance of evidence regarding the presence of a link between the Veteran's hearing loss disabilities and military service, despite conflicting medical opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- right ear hearing loss disability, left ear hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25036880
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that it is at least as likely as not related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypogonadism with fatigue, GERD, and a right ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's left rib disability was denied, and the ratings for his left shoulder injury, left hip bursitis, impairment of the left thigh, left knee retropatellar pain syndrome limitation of extension, and left ankle sprain were either granted or denied with specific rating percentages.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss disability, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between the current condition and his in-service noise exposure.
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