The Board found that the veteran's current left ear hearing loss is not related to service, and denied his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions concluded that the current hearing loss was more likely caused by a 1970 incident of noise exposure after service, rather than being incurred in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 11, 2003
- Citation
- 0323645
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 0323645.
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 rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD and remanded the issues of a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss and entitlement to TDIU.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased disability rating for bilateral combined cataracts and left ear hearing loss.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 5, 2018, for the award of service connection for PTSD and denied earlier effective dates for erectile dysfunction, left ear hearing loss, migraines, and other conditions.
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