The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, strep throat or residuals thereof, left and right lower extremity shin splints, and chronic fatigue syndrome. The claims for service connection for a left wrist disability, right wrist disability, right shoulder disability, low back disability, and gastritis were remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support the presence of current disabilities related to the claimed conditions during or after service, and there was no persuasive medical evidence linking any of these conditions to an in-service event, injury, or illness.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Strep throat or residuals thereof, Left lower extremity shin splints, Right lower extremity shin splints, Chronic fatigue syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2024
- Citation
- A24062780
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- 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.
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