The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service and denied this claim. The issue of service connection for PTSD is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding a verified stressor.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravation of hearing loss, nor can it be presumed based on the veteran's military service. For PTSD, there was insufficient information provided by the veteran to verify specific combat-related stressors during his time in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2008
- Citation
- 0841718
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 0841718.
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 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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to a verified in-service stressor, and the positive and negative medical evidence is at least in equipoise.
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