The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear and left ear hearing loss disabilities, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability or in-service injury related to these conditions. The Board also noted that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a hearing loss disability under VA regulations.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's self-reported history of noise exposure during service and his lay statements regarding acoustic trauma were insufficient to establish a nexus between his current hearing loss disabilities and service, as there was no in-service injury or disease documented. The separation examination showed normal hearing, and the March 2011 VA examiner opined that the left ear mild sensori-neural hearing loss was less likely than not due to active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss, Left ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 30, 2014
- Citation
- 1429435
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 1429435.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to insufficient evidence and need for additional examinations.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities is denied.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability does not meet or approximate criteria for a compensable (10%) disability rating at any point during the appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss and service connection for left ear hearing loss due to inadequate audiometric examinations. The Veteran will be scheduled for new VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his left ear hearing loss and the severity of his hearing loss.
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