The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left knee disability, right knee disability, and scars of the knees have been denied. The Board found no evidence of a current bilateral hearing loss disability for VA purposes and concluded that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for service connection based on direct evidence.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's audiometric testing during service showed normal hearing in both ears, and his hearing was within normal limits upon entrance and exit from service. The Board found no significant threshold shift when comparing the Veteran's enlistment examination to his separation examination, and concluded that there was no evidence of a current bilateral hearing loss disability for VA purposes.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Left Knee Disability (including left knee strain, meniscal tear), Right Knee Disability (including right knee strain, meniscal tear), Scars of the Left and Right Knees
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 10, 2017
- Citation
- 1704190
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 1704190.
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 Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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