The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, left ear, were not incurred in or aggravated by active service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examination report noted no link between the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus with his active service, and the Board found the Veteran's testimony regarding onset of symptoms within one year post-service to be unreliable given the lack of contemporaneous medical evidence. The examiner opined that the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were not related to his active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2009
- Citation
- 0921808
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 0921808.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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