The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active service, and the Board finds that it is less likely than not caused by his military noise exposure.
The deciding factor: The March 2010 VA audio examination report indicated a current bilateral hearing loss disability for VA purposes. However, the examiner noted no significant threshold shifts when comparing the Veteran's pre-induction and separation audiometric results, suggesting that any hearing loss present at induction had resolved by separation. The Board concluded that this evidence does not support service connection due to the lack of evidence indicating noise exposure causing permanent injury.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 9, 2017
- Citation
- 1707369
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 1707369.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability due to inadequate examination and reasoning.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to errors in providing notice of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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