The VA has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, assigning a 10 percent evaluation in each case. The RO found that the veteran's hearing loss does not meet the criteria for an evaluation higher than 10 percent under the applicable rating schedule, and similarly, there is no exceptional pattern of hearing impairment or other basis to warrant a higher evaluation. For his tinnitus, the VA has also denied the claim, as it did not find any evidence of an exceptional pattern of hearing impairment that would allow for a separate evaluation.
The deciding factor: The veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus do not meet the criteria for evaluations in excess of 10 percent under the applicable rating schedule. The RO found no evidence of an exceptional pattern of hearing impairment or other basis to warrant higher evaluations.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- February 10, 2004
- Citation
- 0403841
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 0403841.
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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