The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for loss of teeth, a sprained lower back, and a bruised left leg. The claim for an initial disability rating for bilateral hearing loss was also denied as there is no evidence showing that the Veteran has a compensable dental condition or persistent/recurrent symptoms of a back disability.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not establish current diagnoses for the claimed conditions and failed to show any bone loss related to service-connected dental trauma, which precluded service connection. The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 10 percent based on his audiometric test results.
- Claimed conditions
- loss of teeth, sprained lower back, bruised left leg, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19100251
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19100251.
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.
- 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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