The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current traumatic brain injury or residuals thereof, and thus service connection for this condition is denied. The issue of entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for right ear hearing loss remains pending as the RO has issued a decision but has yet to provide a Statement of the Case (SOC). The claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss requires additional clarification from the VA examiner regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's current left ear hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran does not have or has never had a traumatic brain injury or any residuals thereof, as there is no evidence of such in-service or post-service. The issue of entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for right ear hearing loss remains pending due to the need for issuance of a Statement of the Case (SOC).
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injury, Left Ear Hearing Loss, Right Ear Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2015
- Citation
- 1516503
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 1516503.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial ratings for anxiety disorder and TBI were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Granted
The Board granted entitlement to SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(t) effective January 21, 2019, based on the appellant's need for regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected TBI.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected traumatic brain injury is being remanded due to a procedural error.
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