The Board granted service connection for a lower back disability, to include lumbosacral strain and lumbar spine disc degeneration at L3-L4 and L5-S1 with associated low back pain, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus as secondary to the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The evidence probatively established that the Veteran's current disabilities are etiologically related to his active duty service and exposure to hazardous noise as an avionics navigation systems specialist.
- Claimed conditions
- Lower back disability, to include lumbosacral strain and lumbar spine disc degeneration at L3-L4 and L5-S1 with associated low back pain, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- July 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25057537
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 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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- 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.
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