The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, a low back disability, a left knee disability (secondary to a low back disability), obstructive sleep apnea, genital herpes, and hypertriglyceridemia.,There is no evidence of in-service onset or continuity of symptoms since service for any of the conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's current hearing loss was less likely caused by noise exposure during service due to lack of significant threshold shifts over his entire period of service. The examiner also considered other potential causes such as occupational, environmental, and hereditary factors.,There is no evidence showing hypertension in-service or within one year post-service. The available records indicate the Veteran denied having high blood pressure both during and after his first period of service until at least 1986.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, low back disability, left knee disability, obstructive sleep apnea, genital herpes, hypertriglyceridemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 25, 2021
- Citation
- 21032114
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 21032114.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
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