The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that his preexisting hearing loss did not worsen during service and there is no evidence of noise exposure in service. The Board also found insufficient medical evidence to establish a link between his current tinnitus and service.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran's pre-existing bilateral hearing loss was not aggravated by service, as evidenced by an improvement in audiometric test results upon separation from service compared to those at entry into service. There is no evidence of noise exposure during service or a link between current tinnitus and service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 6, 2017
- Citation
- 1711016
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 1711016.
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- 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.
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