The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there was no evidence of a current disability at any time during or approximate to the pendency of the claim. The claims for service connection for unspecified traumatic stressor related disorder, bipolar I disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cannabis use disorder were remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no evidence of a current disability for bilateral hearing loss as required under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. For the other claims, multiple pre-decisional duty to assist errors were identified and necessitated remand.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Unspecified traumatic stressor related disorder, Bipolar I disorder, Alcohol use disorder, Cannabis use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25057170
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25057170.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) do not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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