The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right shoulder disorder and left ear hearing loss, as there was no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his active military service.
The deciding factor: The October 2004 VA examination report found it unlikely that the veteran's right shoulder sprain related to an injury during active service. Additionally, there is no indication of a current disability for left ear hearing loss as per the July 2000 VA compensation and pension examination.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder disorder, left ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2008
- Citation
- 0813638
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 appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of left ear hearing loss due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as an addendum opinion is necessary to address evidence of in-service hearing loss and convert audiometric testing results from ASA to ISO-ANSI standards.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a head injury, headache disorder, erectile dysfunction, left earache disorder, chronic fatigue, right shoulder disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, right foot disorder, GERD, and left shoulder disorder, as the evidence did not support current diagnoses of these conditions.
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