The Veteran's application to reopen his claim for service connection for hearing loss was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim, as it was cumulative and redundant. Additionally, the Veteran's need for special monthly compensation based on the need for regular aid and attendance was also denied due to lack of service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The new evidence submitted by the Veteran was found to be cumulative and did not address the unestablished fact regarding the etiology of his hearing loss. The Board concluded that there was no new and material evidence presented to reopen the claim for service connection for hearing loss. Furthermore, the Veteran's nonservice-connected disabilities were deemed sufficient to meet the need for regular aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 20, 2018
- Citation
- 18120240
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 18120240.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus. However, it was determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus for VA purposes, thus denying both claims.
- Denied
The Veteran's tinnitus and hearing loss claims are denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.,The Veteran's high cholesterol, dementia, stroke, prostate cancer, cataracts, diabetes, hypertension, CHF, and myocardial infarction claims are denied due to lack of service connection evidence or insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the disabilities and active duty service.,The Veteran was exposed to toxins during his military service but there is no evidence linking these exposures to any of the claimed conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.,Given the grant of TDIU based on his service-connected PTSD, the Veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as total (PTSD) and additional service-connected disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more.
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