The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there was no evidence of a nexus between the veteran's current hearing loss and his military service, including exposure to acoustic trauma.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the veteran's current hearing loss could not be related to his service without further substantiating audiometric evidence obtained closer to the time of service. There was also no evidence of a compensable hearing loss disability within one year of discharge from service, and the earliest medical evidence of hearing loss was approximately 24 years after discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2008
- Citation
- 0810107
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
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- Partly granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted, while fibromyalgia, internal or external hemorrhoids, bilateral hearing loss, and neuropathy are denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding it at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service noise exposure.
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