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Denied

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and peripheral neuropathy as the preponderance of evidence was against these claims. The veteran's PTSD rating was also denied as it did not meet the criteria for a higher initial rating.

The deciding factor: The decision was based on the lack of competent medical evidence linking the claimed conditions to service or establishing current disability, and the absence of sufficient symptomatology to support a higher rating for PTSD.

Claimed conditions
hearing loss, tinnitus, peripheral neuropathy, headaches
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
February 6, 2009
Citation
0904275

Veterans Law Judge

KATHLEEN K. GALLAGHER

Decisions by this judge: 1,013 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0904275.

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

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