The Board has determined that the veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities were not incurred in or aggravated by service. The low back disorder to include arthritis is also denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between the disability and service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the results of the recent testing are unreliable (termed functional, inorganic and malingering) and noted nothing in the records to substantiate a service-connected hearing loss or tinnitus. The veteran's statements regarding the onset of his disabilities are inconsistent with prior negative statements.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing Loss Disability, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 23, 2002
- Citation
- 0212778
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 0212778.
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.
- 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.
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