The Board denied the veteran's claims for ratings in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss and 30 percent for anxiety disorder (post-traumatic stress disorder), finding that his conditions did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under VA rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the veteran had mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss, which was rated as 10 percent disabling. For his anxiety disorder, while he exhibited symptoms such as frequent nightmares and tremors of both hands, these did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under VA's disability evaluation criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- Anxiety Disorder (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 19, 2006
- Citation
- 0614798
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,175 · Granted: 22% (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 0614798.
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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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