The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right ear sensorineural hearing loss as there was no evidence of a current disability for VA compensation purposes.
The deciding factor: The January 2024 VA examination did not show an auditory threshold of 40 decibels or greater at any frequency, and the speech recognition score using the Maryland CNC Test was 100 percent in the right ear, failing to meet the criteria for a hearing loss disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385.
- Claimed conditions
- right ear sensorineural hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25052975
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for right ear sensorineural hearing loss to obtain additional medical evidence regarding its etiology, including considering the Veteran's presumed in-service toxic exposure risk activities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for right ear sensorineural hearing loss, left ear sensorineural hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claims for anxiety, depression, PTSD, and feet and toes were remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right ear sensorineural hearing loss due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for right ear and left ear sensorineural hearing loss, finding that the evidence is at least in approximate balance that these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service.
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