The Board found that the veteran's left ear hearing loss and otitis media did not warrant an increased rating under either the old or new regulatory criteria. The evidence showed no more than normal hearing in his right ear, which precluded a higher evaluation.
The deciding factor: The veteran's left ear hearing loss was rated at 0 percent (noncompensable) based on the average puretone threshold of 48.75 decibels with speech recognition of 84 percent, and his otitis media did not demonstrate active infection or suppuration.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Ear Hearing Loss, Chronic Otitis Media
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 18, 2001
- Citation
- 0118762
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0118762.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU with a September 19, 2024 effective date based on his PTSD, emphysema, and COPD symptoms. His diabetes, tinnitus, and left ear hearing loss were not found to prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 19, 2024.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to August 31, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased evaluations have been remanded due to the need for further evaluation. The effective dates for the grants of service connection are not being granted earlier than November 25, 2019.
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