The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as his claim for an increased rating for residuals of gunshot wound to the left shoulder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show current diagnoses of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus within one year after discharge from service and did not link them to service. For the claim for increased rating, the VA examination reports showed significant impairment but did not establish that the condition had worsened since the last assigned rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Bilateral tinnitus, Residuals of gunshot wound to the left shoulder, involving Muscle Group III and IV
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- April 14, 2006
- Citation
- 0610695
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 0610695.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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