The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not aggravated by service, and the Board found no increase in disability during service. The Veteran's tinnitus was not related to his active duty service.,Tinnitus was diagnosed after service but is not considered a result of noise exposure during service.
The deciding factor: The pre-existing hearing loss at entrance did not worsen during service, and the VA examiner found no increase in disability. The Veteran's tinnitus was related to post-service noise exposure rather than active duty service.,There is no medical evidence linking the current diagnosis of tinnitus to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 24, 2013
- Citation
- 1330590
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 1330590.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- 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.
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