The Veteran's claims of service connection for left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, and tinnitus have been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability. The Board finds that the Veteran was exposed to acoustic trauma during his military service but does not meet the criteria for VA-compliant hearing loss or tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims are denied because he did not meet the criteria for VA-compliant hearing loss and tinnitus, which precludes service connection under direct service connection rules.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Ear Hearing Loss, Right Ear Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2010
- Citation
- 1011980
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 1011980.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- 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.
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