The Board found that the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his service, as there is no evidence of a chronic disease in service or continuity of symptoms after service. The Veteran did not have a compensable degree of hearing loss within one year of separation from service.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and opinions indicated that the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military noise exposure, as there were no significant threshold shifts in his audiometric tests during service and he reported previous occupational and recreational noise exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2015
- Citation
- 1501747
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 1501747.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- 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.
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