The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that his current hearing loss did not have its onset in service and was not related to noise exposure during military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence of a diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss within one year of separation from service or continuity of symptomatology since separation. The examiner opined that the Veteran's hearing loss was less likely than not related to his military service due to the passage of time and lack of medical studies supporting delayed onset hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19128417
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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The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
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- Partly granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted, while fibromyalgia, internal or external hemorrhoids, bilateral hearing loss, and neuropathy are denied.
- 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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