The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss but denied service connection for degenerative disc disease and arthritis of the lower back, left shoulder fracture and rotator cuff tendinosis with arthritis, and right ankle strain with pain.
The deciding factor: The evidence was in approximate balance as to whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is due to service, while the persuasive weight of the evidence does not support a finding that any other claimed disabilities are related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Degenerative disc disease and arthritis of the lower back (low back disability), Left shoulder fracture and rotator cuff tendinosis with arthritis (left shoulder disability), Right ankle strain with pain (right ankle disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- June 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25051357
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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