The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss disability and in-service noise exposure. The Board noted that the Veteran had post-service occupational noise exposure which contributed to his current hearing loss.
The deciding factor: There was no objective medical evidence of a significant threshold shift during service indicating a relationship with the current hearing loss, and the Veteran's post-service occupational noise exposure is considered as contributing to his current disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20066655
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
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- Partly granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted, while fibromyalgia, internal or external hemorrhoids, bilateral hearing loss, and neuropathy are denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding it at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service noise exposure.
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