The Board found that the Veteran's preexisting left-ear hearing loss was not aggravated during service and denied his claim for service connection. The right-ear hearing loss was also not attributable to service.
The deciding factor: The examiner determined that the Veteran's preexisting mild hearing loss in the left ear at 3000 Hertz upon entry into service did not worsen during service, and thus could not be considered service-connected.
- Claimed conditions
- Left-ear hearing loss, Right-ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2011
- Citation
- 1134009
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 1134009.
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 service-connected disabilities, including residuals of facial burns, Parkinsonism, PTSD, tinnitus, and right-ear hearing loss, prevented him from performing the physical and mental acts required for employment, warranting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right-ear hearing loss and an initial compensable rating for left-ear hearing loss, finding that there was no current disability in either ear as defined by VA standards.
- Denied
The Veteran's TDIU claim prior to October 28, 2019 was denied as his combined service-connected disability rating did not meet the schedular percentage thresholds for a TDIU and there is no evidence showing he was unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right-ear hearing loss as there is no probative evidence of a current diagnosis meeting the criteria for qualification as a disability for VA purposes.
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