The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected otitis media and defective hearing of the left ear. The claim for service connection for defective hearing of the right ear was also denied due to a lack of communication on the issue after the RO's October 1996 decision.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran did not meet the criteria for increased ratings under the applicable rating criteria and that his claims were barred from further appeal as he had already received a compensable evaluation for defective hearing of the right ear in October 1996.
- Claimed conditions
- Otitis media of the left ear, Defective hearing of the right ear
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2003
- Citation
- 0307752
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,458 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0307752.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded both claims due to the need for a supplemental VA opinion regarding whether the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability is aggravated by his service-connected left ear hearing loss disability. The claims are also inextricably intertwined and must be addressed together.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a heart condition, hypertension, blackout spells, and Hepatitis C. The veteran was also denied a compensable evaluation for otitis media of the left ear.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant.
- Whole decision: Denied
The VA denied a compensable evaluation for the veteran's service-connected left ear otitis media and did not reopen his claim of service connection for a cervical spine disability.
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