The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss, as there was no evidence that his hearing loss was incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found that the Veteran's hearing loss was less likely than not caused by or a result of military noise exposure, and there was no evidence of onset during service or within one year of separation.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2025
- Citation
- 25008442
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 appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of left ear hearing loss due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as an addendum opinion is necessary to address evidence of in-service hearing loss and convert audiometric testing results from ASA to ISO-ANSI standards.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss to obtain an adequate VA opinion addressing the hearing loss demonstrated on the September 1968 and July 1974 examination, under both ASA and ISO-ANSI standards.
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