The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, and tinnitus as there was no competent evidence to show that these conditions were related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to any in-service events or exposure, including noise exposure during active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ear hearing loss, Right ear hearing loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0902357
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- 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.
- 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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