The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and PTSD as the appellant withdrew his appeals at a November 2019 hearing.
The deciding factor: The withdrawal of the appeal was explicit and unambiguous, with no allegations of errors of fact or law remaining for appellate consideration.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Left foot metatarsalgia, Left foot scars, Acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20063945
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.