The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and found that new and material evidence has been presented. However, the Board denied the underlying claim as there is no competent medical evidence showing a nexus between the Veteran's current hearing loss disability and his active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners concluded that the Veteran's hearing loss was less likely than not related to his active service due to lack of in-service noise exposure and the absence of any threshold shift during service. The Board also found no evidence of a nexus between post-service occupational noise exposure and the current disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2018
- Citation
- 1805009
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1805009.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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