The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for hearing loss in the left ear. The right ear hearing loss was not incurred or aggravated by active service and is not presumed to be related to service.
The deciding factor: Right ear hearing loss was initially documented many years after service, and there is no competent clinical or credible lay evidence of record linking it to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss in the right ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 25, 2011
- Citation
- 1143203
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 1143203.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 decided that the Veteran does not have a current disability of hearing loss in the left ear for VA purposes, and thus denied service connection. For the right ear, the Board found that there is no evidence to support a finding that the Veteran's hearing loss was incurred during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, migraine headaches, tinnitus, hearing loss, and erectile dysfunction, precluded him from obtaining or maintaining a substantially gainful occupation prior to January 8, 2022. The Board has granted a TDIU effective from January 8, 2022 onward.
- Granted
The Veteran's hearing loss in his right ear was incurred during service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for pre-existing hearing loss in both the right and left ears, finding that there was an increase in severity during service without clear and unmistakable evidence of natural progression. The Veteran's exposure to noise trauma while on active duty is acknowledged, as are his symptoms of hearing loss since discharge.
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