The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the issue of secondary service connection for hypertension. The denial is based on the finding that the Veteran does not have a disability for VA purposes due to his hearing impairment, while the hypertension claim requires further examination.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran's hearing impairment constituted a disability for VA purposes and there was no indication of worsening since the October 2014 VA examination. For hypertension, the Board found the October 2014 VA examiner’s opinion inadequate as it did not address whether the condition is related to exposure to herbicide agents in service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2018
- Citation
- 18116001
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 18116001.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- 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.
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