The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to increased ratings for his service-connected tinea versicolor with acne and chondromalacia patella of both knees, as well as an earlier effective date for service connection for tinnitus. The Board found that there was no evidence of in-service noise exposure or hearing loss, and thus denied the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions indicated that the Veteran did not have a history of noise exposure during service and his current hearing loss is not related to his service-connected tinnitus. The Board found this reasoning sufficient to deny the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinea versicolor with acne, chondromalacia patella (right knee), chondromalacia patella (left knee)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2016
- Citation
- 1643454
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 1643454.
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.
- 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 bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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