The Board found that the Veteran's current right and left ear hearing loss disabilities are not service-connected as they did not develop during his military service or due to in-service noise exposure. The VA audiologist opined that the Veteran's hearing loss is less likely related to service.
The deciding factor: The August 2012 VA examiner and July 2013 VA audiologist concluded that the Veteran's mild high frequency hearing loss at discharge was not indicative of noise damage, and his post-service occupational noise exposure did not preclude service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss disability, Left ear hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2013
- Citation
- 1334121
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 1334121.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability but denied service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability, finding that it is due to in-service hazardous noise exposure.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability began during service and is therefore granted as service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability is related to hazardous noise exposure in service, while his right ear hearing loss disability was not aggravated during service.
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