The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a right wrist disorder, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active duty service. The claim for an increased disability rating for left wrist fracture residuals was also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's hearing loss is not related to his military service and concluded that his current bilateral hearing loss is unrelated to his in-service noise exposure. For the right wrist disorder, the VA audiologist opined that it is not as likely as not related to service, while Dr. A.B. stated that the Veteran had less than normal hearing upon discharge from active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Right Wrist Disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2009
- Citation
- 0918146
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 0918146.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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