The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability did not manifest during service and is unrelated to service. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service acoustic trauma or other event, disease, or injury that could be linked to his current hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The VA audiological evaluations showed no significant threshold shifts at the time of entry and separation from service, and there was no evidence of high frequency hearing loss at separation to indicate acoustic trauma. The Veteran's hearing loss is more likely due to presbycusis (age-related hearing loss) rather than in-service noise exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 7, 2013
- Citation
- 1318692
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 1318692.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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