The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as it was not incurred in or aggravated by active service, nor may sensorineural hearing loss be presumed to have been incurred or aggravated during such service. The effective date of the award of service connection for tinnitus was set at June 1, 2007.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's pre-existing bilateral sensorineural hearing loss underwent no increase in severity during service; it is not shown by competent evidence that hearing loss manifested to a compensable degree within one year of his discharge from service. The effective date for the award of service connection for tinnitus was set at June 1, 2007, as this was when all elements required for service connection were established.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2009
- Citation
- 0910459
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asbestosis, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was also denied a compensable rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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