The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral elbow disability, diagnosed as lateral epicondylitis, is not etiologically related to service. The examiner noted no complaints of elbow problems during active duty and attributed the current condition to overuse in a civilian job.,There is insufficient evidence to establish a link between the Veteran's hearing loss and military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's bilateral lateral epicondylitis was less likely related to his active duty service due to its nature as an overuse injury unrelated to any in-service incident.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Elbow Disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2017
- Citation
- 1712726
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 1712726.
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.
- 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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