The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability was evaluated as a direct service connection case, resulting in a 10% rating prior to July 18, 2013, and a 10% rating thereafter. The Board found that the current ratings adequately reflected the severity of his condition based on the established criteria.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hearing loss disability was evaluated under the appropriate VA rating schedule which considers both pure tone thresholds and speech discrimination scores. The functional effects of decreased hearing, including difficulty understanding conversations in noisy or crowded environments, were considered within the scope of the assigned ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20064329
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asbestosis, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was also denied a compensable rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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