The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for hearing loss have been denied. The claim to reopen his right ear hearing loss was not granted due to lack of new and material evidence, while the left ear hearing loss claim did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not provide a reasonable possibility of substantiating the Veteran's service-connection claims for both ears. The VA examinations provided adequate clinical findings but did not establish that the current hearing loss is related to service or meets the criteria for a compensable rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ear Hearing Loss, Left Ear Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2010
- Citation
- 1039287
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 1039287.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU with a September 19, 2024 effective date based on his PTSD, emphysema, and COPD symptoms. His diabetes, tinnitus, and left ear hearing loss were not found to prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 19, 2024.
- Denied
The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability was not incurred in service and is less likely than not caused by noise exposure during his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to August 31, 2020.
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