The Board denied service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus, while dismissing the appeal for right ear hearing loss as it was granted in a subsequent rating decision. The claim for residuals of a left ear injury was remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The weight of the evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's claimed conditions began during service or were due to in-service noise exposure, and there was no positive medical opinion evidence linking them to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ear hearing loss, Tinnitus, Right ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2024
- Citation
- 24033536
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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