The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for hepatitis C, bilateral hearing loss disability, and tinnitus due to lack of evidence supporting a current disability or a link between his military service and these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the most likely cause of the Veteran's hepatitis C was his history of intravenous drug use and intranasal cocaine use, which occurred outside of service. The Board determined there is no competent evidence showing hearing loss to a compensable degree within one year after separation from service.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatitis C, bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2011
- Citation
- 1119818
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 1119818.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
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