The Board found that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability is not related to service, as there was no evidence of a nexus between in-service noise exposure and current hearing loss. The preponderance of the evidence supports the denial of service connection.
The deciding factor: Multiple VA examiners opined that the Veteran's current right ear hearing loss did not result from or be aggravated by in-service noise exposure, as there was no significant change in hearing acuity during service and the Veteran had some degree of pre-existing hearing loss at enlistment.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ear Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2018
- Citation
- 1801408
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 1801408.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, except for a 20 percent rating for lumbosacral strain.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, except for remanding certain service connection claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an increased rating of 70 percent for PTSD from September 27, 2022, and denied the claims for a compensable rating for urethral injury with urinary incontinence and right ear hearing loss. The claim for service connection for chronic headaches as secondary to the right shoulder was also granted.
- Dismissed
The appeal for several conditions, including insomnia, hypertension, and various disabilities, was dismissed due to procedural issues.
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