The Board found that the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is not well grounded. The veteran's service-connected otitis externa did not cause his current bilateral hearing loss, and thus, he cannot establish a secondary service connection. His claims for an increased evaluation and earlier effective date were also denied as there was no evidence of worsening due to the service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to his service-connected otitis externa, which precludes secondary service connection. The Board found that the veteran did not meet the criteria for an earlier effective date as there was no showing of worsening due to the service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Bilateral Otitis Externa
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 13, 2000
- Citation
- 0010024
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0010024.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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