The Veteran's hearing acuity has manifested in no worse than level IV in the left ear and level II in the right ear. The Veteran also demonstrated difficulty hearing conversational speech, especially in the presence of background noise. As a result, the Board finds that an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is not warranted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hearing test results suggest he would have difficulty in situations where he would be communicating in the presence of background noise. However, the examiner also stated that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss 'in and of itself does not preclude the veteran from working in other types of physical or sedentary types of employment that do not require acute listening skills.'
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2014
- Citation
- 1451109
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 1451109.
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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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