The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with disc protrusions, and various secondary conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current disabilities were found to be related to in-service noise exposure and injuries sustained during active duty and reserve training periods.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with disc protrusions, Left hip pain, Cervical spine spondylosis and stenosis, Sinusitis and allergic rhinitis, Right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy (secondary to lumbar spine condition), Left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy (secondary to lumbar spine condition), Right hip trochanteric pain syndrome (secondary to left hip pain and lumbar spine condition), Temporomandibular joint disorder of the jaw (secondary to cervical spine and lumbar spine conditions), Right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy (secondary to cervical spine condition), Cervicogenic headaches (secondary to cervical spine and tinnitus)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25058643
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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