The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, serous otitis media, and several other conditions were denied. The appeals for increased ratings for hearing loss and scars, as well as the effective date claims for serous otitis media and scars were also denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support the presence of a current psychiatric disorder or any of the claimed disabilities. The Veteran's hearing loss was rated based on VA audiometry results which were invalid due to lack of Maryland CNC controlled speech discrimination test. The effective date claims for serous otitis media and scars were denied as there was no proof of claim prior to the specified dates.
- Claimed conditions
- psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, serous otitis media, systemic arthritis disorder, neck disability, back disability, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, right wrist disability, left wrist disability, right hand disability, left hand disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, headaches, hypertension, sleep disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 26, 2023
- Citation
- 23053582
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 23053582.
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.
- 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 right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- 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.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.