The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and hypertensive coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not warrant a higher rating under VA regulations.
The deciding factor: The RO found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss was productive of Level I hearing loss in both ears throughout the appeal period, which corresponds to a zero percent disability evaluation. For his hypertensive coronary artery disease, the Board determined that prior to January 12, 1998, he did not meet the criteria for a higher rating than 30 percent; and from August 23, 2000, he did not meet the criteria for a higher rating than 60 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Hypertensive Coronary Artery Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2004
- Citation
- 0406890
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,177 · Granted: 24% (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 0406890.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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