The Board denied service connection for hearing loss disability of the right ear, finding that it preexisted service and was not aggravated beyond its natural progression during any period of service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hearing loss disability of the right ear was documented on an examination upon induction into his first period of service. The VA examiners did not find evidence of a threshold shift in audiometric results that would indicate aggravation beyond the natural progression of the preexisting condition during any period of service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss disability of the right ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20069731
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20069731.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete records and need for further medical opinions regarding his hearing loss disability of the right ear and disabilities of both shoulders. The AOJ is instructed to obtain all relevant records, including personnel and service treatment records, and arrange for new medical opinions on the etiology of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss disability of the right ear, finding that there is no evidence to support a finding of aggravation beyond its natural progression during any period of service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a hearing loss disability of the right ear as there is no current diagnosis of such disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded two issues related to hearing loss: entitlement to a compensable rating for the left ear and service connection for the right ear. The Veteran's hearing loss in both ears is currently service-connected, but his right ear hearing loss was not shown to meet VA disability criteria.
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