The Board denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for his service-connected bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, nodule in the right upper lung lobe, and lesion in the right orbital frontal/anterior fossa. The RO had previously granted service connection for these conditions but did not assign any disability rating.
The deciding factor: The VA audiometric evaluations consistently showed mild to profound hearing impairment without meeting the criteria for exceptional patterns of hearing impairment as defined by 38 C.F.R. § 4.86, and the Veteran's functional effects were adequately addressed in his June 2009 VA audiological examination.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), nodule, right upper lung lobe, lesion, right orbital frontal/anterior fossa (claimed as brain tumor)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 3, 2014
- Citation
- 1439108
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 1439108.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and denied an initial increased rating above 10 percent for tinnitus, to include on an extraschedular basis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of definitive studies on delayed onset hearing loss, and needs an addendum opinion from the December 2019 examiner.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration due to conflicting opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's neck condition and bilateral SNHL. The claims are being returned to the AOJ for additional analysis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient rationale in a prior VA examiner's opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The case is now being returned for an updated opinion that addresses this issue.
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