The Board found that the veteran's current conditions, including left ear hearing loss, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with chronic bronchitis, perforation of right tympanic membrane, and arteriosclerotic heart disease, are not related to his active duty service. The claims for these conditions were denied as there is no evidence linking them to service.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran's current lung disabilities did not manifest during or within one year after service and could not be presumed to have been incurred in service due to lack of medical records indicating such a connection. The hearing loss was also found unrelated to service, as there is no evidence showing it occurred during service or for many years thereafter.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear hearing loss, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with chronic bronchitis, perforation of right tympanic membrane, arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 8, 2003
- Citation
- 0323016
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 0323016.
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 a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of left ear hearing loss due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as an addendum opinion is necessary to address evidence of in-service hearing loss and convert audiometric testing results from ASA to ISO-ANSI standards.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss to obtain an adequate VA opinion addressing the hearing loss demonstrated on the September 1968 and July 1974 examination, under both ASA and ISO-ANSI standards.
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