The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss was not found to be related to his military service, and the Board denied his claim for service connection. The Veteran also sought TDIU based on his service-connected psychiatric disability, but the Board determined that he did not meet the criteria for a TDIU as his single service-connected condition does not meet the required percentage rating threshold.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a nexus between the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and military noise exposure. The Veteran's only service-connected disability is a 50% rated psychiatric disorder, which does not meet the criteria for TDIU as it fails to meet the combined percentage requirement of at least one condition rated at 40% or more with sufficient additional disability to bring the combined rating to 70%.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- October 31, 2013
- Citation
- 1334954
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 1334954.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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