Ankle Board decisions

The Veteran's tinnitus is related to his in-service noise exposure, and service connection for this condition is granted. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 20 percent, effective May 16, 2005. Service connection for the residuals of cold injury (frozen feet) is granted. Service connection for a back disorder (residuals of spinal meningitis) and knee disorders are also granted.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including scheduling an orthopedic examination and addressing whether service connection can be granted on a direct or secondary basis.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete verification of his periods of active duty, ACDUTRA, and INACDUTRA service. The appellant is required to provide information on when he was in these types of service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claims for service connection for right knee patellofemoral syndrome, left knee injury (status post total knee replacement), right wrist myofascial strain, and status post right ankle fusion with flattened arch and foot pronation. The Veteran's current disabilities are considered to be due to natural aging and overuse of joints from past employment history.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are found to be as likely as not attributable to acoustic trauma in service.,The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be as likely as not attributable to the same etiology as his bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the propriety of apportionment of VA benefits, and thus the Board does not have jurisdiction to review it.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current diagnoses of right or left ankle disabilities and therefore, service connection for these conditions cannot be granted.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity and degenerative joint disease of the right ankle are being remanded to allow for additional examinations and consideration.

The Veteran's increased rating claims for posttraumatic arthritis of the left and right knees have been denied as there is no evidence that the disabilities are service-connected or related to any exposure basis.

The Veteran's service-connected left ankle disability is currently rated at 20 percent, and his right knee chondromalacia is rated at 10 percent. The appeal for increased evaluations remains pending.

The Veteran's arthritis of the lumbar spine, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, and feet was not manifested in service or within one year postservice. The Board finds no evidence to support a nexus between his service-connected diabetes mellitus and his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss has been granted, with a rating of 10 percent. The claims for reopening service connection for postoperative degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and left shoulder disorder have also been granted. Service connection for vertigo is denied. The right hip arthritis claim remains pending as it was not addressed in this decision. The right knee arthritis and right ankle disorders are both rated at 20 percent.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left leg disorder and a left ankle disorder on a secondary basis to his service-connected arthritis of the right great toe with hallux rigidus was denied. The Board found that there is no diagnosed disability of the left leg or left ankle, and thus, service connection cannot be granted.

The Veteran's service-connected post-traumatic arthritis of the left ankle is currently rated at 20 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available for marked limitation of motion. A separate 10 percent rating has been granted for instability of the left ankle.

The Board found no evidence of a current disability in any of the claimed conditions and concluded that there was insufficient medical evidence to link any of the Veteran's disabilities, including his ankle and leg problems, to service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development to determine if his foot-related symptoms are related to his service-connected bilateral calcaneal stress fractures.

The Board found no current diagnoses of the claimed conditions and thus denied all service connection claims.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the bilateral hips and ankles have been denied as there is no diagnosed condition in either hip or ankle joints.

The Veteran's right ankle sprain disability is currently rated at 10 percent, but the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted for any period of time.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and scheduling examinations to assess his neck, back, hips, knees, shoulders, and ankles.