The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current disability is not related to his military service.,The Board also denied service connection for tinnitus, concluding that there was no evidence linking the condition to his time in service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence did not support a link between the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss and service exposure. The VA examiner found that the Veteran's hearing was within normal limits during service and five months after separation, and there was no objective evidence of hearing loss in service or for many years thereafter.,For tinnitus, the Board agreed with the VA examiner who opined that there was no link to service. The examiner noted that the Veteran did not report any ringing in his ears until 12 years after service, and post-service medical records did not show a history of tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19178939
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,738 · Granted: 17% (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 19178939.
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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 service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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