The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a neck injury and hearing loss, as well as his claim for a compensable disability rating for residuals of a laceration of the left ring finger. The evidence submitted since the April 1995 denial was not considered new and material to reopen these claims.
The deciding factor: The veteran's service medical records did not provide sufficient evidence to support the claims, as there were no documented incidents or diagnoses related to neck injuries or hearing loss during his military service. The residuals of a laceration of the left ring finger had objective clinical findings but did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss, Residuals of a neck injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2004
- Citation
- 0407842
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (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 0407842.
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The Board denied service connection for hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss disability is not related to military noise exposure and there is no evidence of a nexus between in-service noise exposure and his current condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the hearing loss claim due to incomplete records and the need for a VA examination. The Veteran's hearing loss may be related to service or secondary to his service-connected cerumen impaction.
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