The Board found that the veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus did not result from service, as there was no evidence of such conditions during or within one year after service. The VA examiner concluded that the current hearing loss developed several years after service and was not related to acoustic trauma.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the veteran's right ear hearing loss developed several years after service and was not patterned after hearing loss secondary to acoustic trauma, but rather consistent with his history of ear infections and surgeries in the 1990s.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 12, 2002
- Citation
- 0209636
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 0209636.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased disability evaluation for PTSD but granted an earlier effective date for TDIU of August 6, 2012.
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