The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and a psychiatric condition, including PTSD. The decision found that there was no evidence of in-service noise exposure leading to current right ear hearing loss or any link between the Veteran's current mental health conditions and his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the diagnoses were less likely than not related to service due to lack of evidence of a psychiatric condition during service and the fact that symptoms did not begin in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss, Major depressive disorder (MDD), Social anxiety disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2023
- Citation
- 23001009
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (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 23001009.
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 has remanded the claims for further development due to insufficient evidence and need for additional examinations.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss and service connection for left ear hearing loss due to inadequate audiometric examinations. The Veteran will be scheduled for new VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his left ear hearing loss and the severity of his hearing loss.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected Major Depressive Disorder contributed to his death from a Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA). The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is therefore granted.
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