The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder and hearing loss, as well as his request for nonservice-connected pension prior to March 28, 2018, were all denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support these claims.
The deciding factor: Service connection was denied because there was no diagnosed psychiatric condition or hearing loss related to service and the Veteran's symptoms were attributed to alcohol dependence and occupational noise exposure, respectively. Pension benefits were also denied as he had active wartime service but could not secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to his disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric disorder, Hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2021
- Citation
- 21073873
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 21073873.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss disability is not related to military noise exposure and there is no evidence of a nexus between in-service noise exposure and his current condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's entitlement to higher level of SMC at the intermediate rate is granted, effective from January 8, 2021. He was previously in need of aid and attendance due to his left knee disability since February 1, 2017, and now has additional disabilities rated at 50 percent or more.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for psychiatric disorder, right shoulder condition, and right knee condition due to duty-to-assist errors.
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