The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability. The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral pes planus is granted, but with a rating in excess of 10 percent denied due to lack of objective evidence supporting the need for such an increase.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran does not have a hearing loss disability as defined by regulation and thus cannot establish service connection. For bilateral pes planus, while the Veteran's STRs are silent for complaints or findings of hearing loss, there is no evidence of a significant threshold shift between enlistment and separation audiometries. The VA examiner concluded that any future diagnosis would be unrelated to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Bilateral Pes Planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2011
- Citation
- 1115152
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 1115152.
What this means for you
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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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