The Board denied service connection for hearing loss in the right ear, left ear, and Meniere’s syndrome due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or any other valid theory of entitlement.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided medical opinions that did not support a link between the Veteran's current conditions and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss in the right ear, Hearing loss in the left ear, Meniere’s syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19126631
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for left ear hearing loss based on the severity of his symptoms and the results of a controlled Maryland CNC speech discrimination test together with the average hearing threshold level measured by pure tone audiometry tests.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases of bilateral hearing loss and Meniere's syndrome for further development. The claims will be reviewed again with new evidence, specifically focusing on noise exposure during service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and mood disorders, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board has granted TDIU based on these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected disabilities, specifically Meniere’s syndrome and the cardiovascular conditions he had. The Board found that these conditions aggravated his heart issues and contributed to his cause of death.
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