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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0403841.
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
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