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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · Granted: 9% (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 0610695.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) do not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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