The Veteran's lower back disability is denied as it did not manifest in service or for years thereafter and is not otherwise etiologically related to his active service.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no current degree of hearing loss that constitutes a disability under VA regulations.
The deciding factor: Service connection requires evidence of a current disability, an in-service injury or disease, and a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service injury or disease. The Veteran's lower back disability was not shown to have manifested during service or for years thereafter, and there is no medical evidence linking it to his active service.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not meet the minimum degree of hearing loss required under VA regulations (38 C.F.R. § 3.385) as evidenced by the audiometric test results.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back disability, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2023
- Citation
- 23067916
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 23067916.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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