The Board has found that the Veteran's lower back disability was not aggravated by service and therefore denied his claim for service connection. The hearing loss disability is being remanded as the February 2011 VA examination opinion relied solely on the Veteran's normal separation hearing test, which may be inadequate.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the burden to prove aggravation of a preexisting back condition during service and therefore denied his claim for service connection. The hearing loss disability is being remanded as the February 2011 VA examination opinion relied solely on the Veteran's normal separation hearing test, which may be inadequate.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss Disability, Lower Back Disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2015
- Citation
- 1511093
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 1511093.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are related to his in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board has readjudicated the claims for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss disability, cervical spine disability, skin disability, and peripheral neuropathy of both upper extremities. The decision is mixed as some issues are granted while others are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to inadequate medical opinion in the original decision. The issues are being remanded for further examination and consideration of new evidence.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for PVD, denied service connection for GERD, right knee disability, and lower back disability, and dismissed the claim of service connection for tinnitus due to lack of appealable final decision.
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