The Veteran's claim for a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss disability was denied as his service-connected hearing loss has been shown to be no worse than Level II in the right ear and Level I in the left ear.,Service connection for ischemic heart disease, which is presumed due to herbicide exposure, was also denied because there is no current diagnosis of a heart condition or ischemic heart disease.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's audiometric testing did not show any improvement over previous evaluations and the VA examiner found that his hearing loss does not affect his daily functional abilities.,The Veteran has been diagnosed with cholesterol and hypertension, but no current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease or a qualifying disability related to herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Ischemic Heart Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20076869
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 20076869.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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