Veterans’ RightsAn independent resource for veterans
← All decisions
Denied

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not shown as chronic in service, did not manifest to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period, and is not otherwise etiologically related to an in-service injury or disease. As such, his claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The deciding factor: The Veteran's hearing loss was not manifested to a degree of 10 percent or more within a year of his discharge from service and was not noted during the presumptive period. The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is less likely than not related to in-service loud noise exposure.

Claimed conditions
bilateral hearing loss
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
February 1, 2019
Citation
19107786

Veterans Law Judge

DONNIE R. HACHEY

Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 19107786.

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.

Free starter guide for your own claim

Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.

We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.

We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.

This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.