The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, residuals of dental surgery (dental disorder), and psychiatric disorder were denied as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners determined that there was no direct evidence linking the claimed disabilities to service, with the exception of the bilateral hearing loss which was found to be related to service based on audiometric testing results. The dental disorder claim was denied as it did not meet the criteria for service connection due to lack of in-service trauma and the Veteran's teeth were removed during basic training without explanation or justification. The psychiatric disorder claim was also denied as there was no credible evidence establishing a relationship between the condition and service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, residuals of dental surgery (dental disorder), psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20007475
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (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 20007475.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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 bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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