The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is not service connected as it did not manifest during service or within one year of discharge.,The Veteran's hypertension is not service connected as there is no evidence that it began during service or is related to any in-service injury, event, or disease.,The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of congestion.
The deciding factor: There was no significant change in hearing after the Veteran deployed to Iraq and his current right ear hearing loss is not consistent with changes caused by hazardous noise exposure in service. The Veteran's lay testimony regarding the onset of right ear hearing loss is not competent.,The October 2019 VA examiner opined that it is less likely than not that the Veteran’s hypertension began during service or is related to any in-service injury, event, or disease. There was no medical or epidemiologic evidence suggesting a connection between the Veteran's benign essential hypertension and his service in Southwest Asia.,The October 2019 VA examiner stated there is no current diagnosis of congestion.
- Claimed conditions
- right ear hearing loss, hypertension, congestion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20013079
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 20013079.
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