The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, COPD, and pes planus due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service.,Service connection was not granted as there is no current disability meeting VA criteria for hearing loss, no medical opinion linking COPD to service, and no evidence connecting pes planus to service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's audiometric results did not meet the threshold for a hearing loss disability under VA regulations. The Board found that his statements about current hearing loss were not credible due to lack of supporting medical evidence.,VA examiners concluded that COPD was more likely related to smoking rather than service exposure, given the long history and continued smoking after service. They also noted that pes planus did not have a nexus to service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss disorder, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bilateral pes planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 7, 2023
- Citation
- 23049421
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 23049421.
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- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's requests for earlier effective dates for his service connection for bilateral pes planus and gynecomastia scar residuals, finding that the earliest possible effective dates are the dates of receipt of the claims.
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