The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as the evidence did not support a finding that it was due to service, began during active service, or is otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.
The deciding factor: The persuasive weight of the evidence weighed against entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss on a direct basis. The appellant's STRs were silent for complaints or diagnoses related to hearing loss and his hearing was normal at separation with no documentation of shift during active duty or in the 40 years since separation.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Low back disability, Right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25076431
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 785 · Granted: 27% (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 A25076431.
What this means for you
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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 claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- 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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- 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.
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