The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection for hearing loss. The Board has granted a 30 percent rating, but no higher, for sinusitis and remanded the issues of service connection for aphthous ulcer and GERD.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for hearing loss before the Board could make a decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss, Sinusitis, Aphthous ulcer, Gastroesophageal reflux disease with hiatal hernia and gastritis (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20023776
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 20023776.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
- Granted
The Veteran's sinusitis is currently rated at a noncompensable evaluation. The Board has granted a 30 percent evaluation for sinusitis as of February 19, 2021, based on the number and duration of incapacitating episodes requiring antibiotic treatment.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for cervical spine and lumbar spine conditions, left knee condition, right knee condition, and sinusitis. The Veteran was granted service connection for chronic laryngeal papillomatosis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss disability is not related to military noise exposure and there is no evidence of a nexus between in-service noise exposure and his current condition.
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