The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and may not be presumed to have been incurred or aggravated in service. The claim for service connection for upper/lower back disability and bilateral knee disability is addressed in the REMAND portion of the decision.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that current bilateral hearing loss is not at least as likely as not related to service, due to normal hearing on enlistment and separation exams with no shifts in hearing threshold levels during his service time. The Veteran's denial of having ear problems on separation disrupts any allegation of continuity of symptomatology under subsection 3.303(b).
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, upper/lower back disability, bilateral knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2016
- Citation
- 1601375
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 1601375.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and increased ratings for her bilateral knee disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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