Board decisions
What the Board granted and denied for hearing loss
In the Board decisions we have indexed since 2019, veterans raised 59,991 issues about hearing loss. Of the ones it decided, the Board granted 32 percent. It sent 39 percent of all these issues back for more work.
Every decision counted here is an appeal. The regional office decided the claim first, the veteran disagreed, and the Board is the next step after that. These are not the odds on a first claim.
Since 2019
2,814 were reopened for a fresh look, which is not a grant and is not counted as one. 3,527 were dismissed or withdrawn. 347 ended some other way, or we could not read the outcome.
Across every year we have indexed, that is 201,674 issues across 175,245 decisions, 27 percent granted of the ones decided, and 37 percent sent back for more work.
What a remand is
A remand is not a yes or a no. The Board sends the claim back to the regional office for more work, such as a new exam or a record that was not in the file. The claim is decided again later, and that later decision is a separate document.
What showed up in the decisions
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| What the decision mentions | Granted29,532 issues | Denied78,166 issues |
|---|---|---|
| A medical opinion, or the words nexus or at least as likely as not, anywhere in the decision | 83 percent | 68 percent |
| The words lay statement, buddy statement, or lay evidence | 60 percent | 58 percent |
| The veteran or a witness testified at a hearing | 47 percent | 34 percent |
| The decision calls an exam or medical opinion inadequate | 9 percent | 7 percent |
These are mentions in the written decision, not reasons for the outcome. A denied issue can mention a doctor's opinion just as a granted one does. Whether the opinion was for or against the claim, and the reasons it gave, are not something these counts can see. Each item is counted for the whole decision, so it may concern another issue decided in the same document.
Claimed together
A pair gets its own page once it appears at least 100 times and the Board decided at least 20 of them. Pairs below that are in the data but have no page.
Claimed as secondary to hearing loss
Vertigo secondary to hearing loss
Since 2019: 317 issues paired, 21 percent granted of the ones decided
Tinnitus secondary to hearing loss
Since 2019: 227 issues paired, 83 percent granted of the ones decided
Depression or anxiety secondary to hearing loss
Since 2019: 178 issues paired, 56 percent granted of the ones decided
Migraines secondary to hearing loss
Since 2019: 51 issues paired, 40 percent granted of the ones decided
Hearing loss claimed as secondary to something else
Hearing loss secondary to tinnitus
Since 2019: 126 issues paired, 24 percent granted of the ones decided
Hearing loss secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 41 issues paired, 17 percent granted of the ones decided
Five recent decisions about hearing loss
- June 30, 2026Denied
Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 0 percent for left ear hearing loss
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 30, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 30, 2026Denied
Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 29, 2026Granted
Entitlement to an initial disability rating of 10 percent, but no higher, for service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability (BHL) prior to September 27, 2022
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 25, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss
Read the decision at VA.gov
What this means for you
For the rating, the hearing test is what counts. The VA rates hearing loss from one kind of test. It measures the softest tones you can hear at several pitches, and how many spoken words you get right. The rating comes off a table from those two results. A test from a private clinic counts toward the rating when a state-licensed audiologist ran both parts, the word test was the Maryland CNC list, and you were tested without hearing aids. Ask the clinic for those three things before you rely on it. Other tests can still show that you have hearing loss, and when it began.
For service connection, the link is the case. The Board looks for noise in service and an opinion on how the loss got from there to now. Your job, your unit, and your duty station tell the noise story. Ask for copies of your entry and separation hearing tests, so a doctor can compare the two.
Normal hearing at separation is not the end. Hearing loss can show up years later, and the rules allow service connection for a condition diagnosed after discharge when the evidence ties it to service. Ask the examiner to explain why the years in between do or do not fit. An opinion that gives reasons is what the claim rests on.
Hearing loss and tinnitus are separate issues, even when they are claimed together. A decision on one does not decide the other.
Keep reading
Board decisions by condition
Every condition family and the secondary pairs that appeared most, counted from 1,479,738 Board decisions.
How to Read a Board of Veterans' Appeals Decision
Where VA Board decisions live and how to read one in ten minutes, using a real back case.
Lay Evidence and Buddy Statements That Hold Up at the Board
Who can write a statement for you, what they can say, and how the VA weighs it, with prompts for knee, back, sleep apnea, and PTSD.
Free to use. The written playbook is $49.99 once, when it ships.
An issue is counted in a family by its diagnostic code or by the words in the issue. One issue can be counted in more than one family. Percent granted is of the ones the Board decided, so remands and dismissals are left out. The example decisions are recent ones we could link whose issue names this condition, chosen so that both outcomes are shown when we have them. Reopened claims and effective-date disputes are left out. Past decisions do not predict yours. Each page states the decisions from 2019 on, and says so, unless the Board decided too few of them since 2019 to give a percentage worth reading. Where that happens the page counts every year instead and tells you it has. This page is education, not legal advice. Rules quoted are from 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4, as published on the government's eCFR website. Board decisions are public records, linked at their source.