The Veteran's right shoulder disability and bilateral hearing loss claims are denied. The Board found no evidence of a right shoulder disability during service or within one year after separation, and the lay statements were not credible. For hearing loss, the earliest possible effective date is July 9, 2008.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's right shoulder disability was not shown to be incurred in service, as there was no evidence of a pre-existing condition noted at entry or during service. The lay statements regarding an inservice injury were found to lack credibility due to the inconsistency with other medical records and job history. For hearing loss, the earliest possible effective date is July 9, 2008.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18104137
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 18104137.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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