The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service-connected as they did not manifest during or within one year after his military service. The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence is against a finding that these conditions had their onset during service, and against a finding that any current hearing loss disability is otherwise related to service or any noise exposure during service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided an opinion stating that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are less likely caused by his military service due to the absence of evidence linking these conditions to in-service noise exposure, given the normal audiometric results at entrance and exit from service. The examiner also noted that there is no compelling scientific evidence to support the onset of tinnitus without a concurrent diagnosis of hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 11, 2016
- Citation
- 1619004
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 1619004.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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