The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disability, hearing loss, and tinnitus were denied. The Board found that there was no evidence of in-service noise exposure or injury leading to current disabilities, and the preponderance of the evidence did not support a finding that any current conditions are related to service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's STRs do not show hearing loss or tinnitus at separation, and there is no competent medical evidence linking his current conditions to service. The Board found that the Veteran's accounts of in-service noise exposure were inconsistent with the lack of documented postservice complaints or findings.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric disability (to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)), Hearing loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 15, 2010
- Citation
- 1022177
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 1022177.
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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