The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss has been rated at 10 percent since November 12, 2013. The January 2020 VA examination results suggest an improvement in hearing, but the Board finds no actual improvement and maintains the 10 percent rating.
The deciding factor: The audiometric results from multiple examinations over a several year period do not show actual improvement of the service-connected bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20066696
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss due to a duty to assist error regarding an incomplete medical opinion.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss as the evidence did not support a finding of a nexus between the Veteran's current condition and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to a compensable disability evaluation for service-connected bilateral sensorineural hearing loss due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Board has granted the claim for service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, finding that it was incurred in service based on noise exposure during basic training and Infantry Training School.
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