The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and pleural calcifications due to asbestos exposure do not warrant an initial compensable rating.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not show any exceptional pattern of hearing impairment or significant impact on daily activities for bilateral hearing loss, and the Veteran's pleural calcifications were deemed to be a result of his history of asbestos exposure without evidence of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Pleural Calcifications due to Asbestos Exposure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2009
- Citation
- 0946064
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 0946064.
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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