The Board denied the veteran's attempts to reopen claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral pes planus, residuals of a lumbar spine injury with degenerative disc disease, and a skin condition claimed as a rash on chest and back due to lack of new and material evidence.
The deciding factor: The evidence submitted since the previous denials did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claims for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Bilateral pes planus, Residuals of a lumbar spine injury with degenerative disc disease, Skin condition, claimed as a rash on chest and back
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2008
- Citation
- 0814182
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.
- Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates of November 5, 2021, for the grants of service connection and eligibility for DEA benefits.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
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