The Veteran's service records do not show any complaints, diagnosis or treatment for hearing loss during his military service. His hearing was found to be normal at the time of discharge. The VA and private medical opinions concluded that his current bilateral hearing loss is more likely due to post-service noise exposure rather than in-service acoustic trauma.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's STRs did not show any complaints, diagnosis or treatment for hearing loss during service, and his hearing was found to be normal at the time of discharge. The VA and private medical opinions concluded that his current bilateral hearing loss is more likely due to post-service noise exposure rather than in-service acoustic trauma.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19107210
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.
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- Denied
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- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding it at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service noise exposure.
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