The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active duty.
The deciding factor: The competent and probative medical evidence preponderated against a finding that the veteran had current bilateral hearing loss which was due to any incident during active duty, nor could sensorineural hearing loss be presumed to have been incurred in service. Similarly, there was no evidence supporting a finding that degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was incurred in or aggravated by active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2009
- Citation
- 0900042
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,643 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0900042.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) do not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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