The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as there was no evidence that these conditions were incurred during active duty for training (ACDUTRA) or that they are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The evidence of record did not support a finding that the Appellant's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were incurred in ACDUTRA service, as there was no indication of preexisting hearing loss at entrance into ACDUTRA and no permanent positive threshold shift (worse than reference threshold) greater than normal measurement variability at any frequency between 500 and 6000 Hertz for either ear was indicated at separation.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25046361
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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