The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claim for a low back condition (claimed as back pain), to include lumbosacral strain, due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of hearing loss in either ear for VA purposes. For the low back condition, there is no indication that at the time of the May 2024 AOJ decision on appeal, the AOJ attempted to verify any periods of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA during the Veteran's service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss, Low back condition (claimed as back pain), to include lumbosacral strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25053399
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 an initial increased rating for hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not support a compensable rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hearing loss, psychiatric disorder, neck disorder, and radiculopathy of both upper and lower extremities to correct duty-to-assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claims for hearing loss, right index finger disability, low back disability, left and right hip disabilities, and left and right knee disabilities to provide the Veteran with proper notice of his right to a hearing before the AOJ.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to obtain an opinion as to whether it is in the best interest of the Veteran to participate in the PCAFC, given that he has been in need of personal care services for at least six continuous months based on an inability to perform certain ADLs.
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