The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral tinnitus and a heart disorder as there was no evidence of these conditions during service or within one year after discharge, and no medical evidence linking them to his military service.
The deciding factor: The February 2005 VA examiner found that the veteran's tinnitus is less likely than not secondary to noise trauma and more likely secondary to his long history of heart problems. For the heart disorder, there was insufficient medical documentation in the service medical records to support a link to military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral tinnitus, Heart disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2008
- Citation
- 0811154
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.
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The appeal was denied for service connection of a cervical spine disorder, and several claims were remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a heart disability, granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus and right knee osteochondritis dissecans, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear s/p ACL reconstruction, and denied an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder with generalized anxiety disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, as the evidence did not show that his service-connected disabilities alone were of such nature and severity to preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, sleep disorder, erectile dysfunction, and right eye injury as new and relevant evidence was not received to readjudicate these claims.
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