The veteran's claims for service connection for Hepatitis C Virus, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus were denied as there was no medical evidence confirming the presence of these conditions.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence confirming the veteran has HCV, bilateral hearing loss, or tinnitus. The STRs do not contain diagnoses of sensorineural hearing loss or tinnitus, and the VA treatment records do not show a diagnosis of either condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2009
- Citation
- 0901130
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 service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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