The Board found that the veteran's heart disorder is not currently manifested and denied his claim for service connection. The veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability was assigned a noncompensable rating, as it did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation under either the old or new VA Rating Schedule. For mechanical low back pain, the Board found that the current evidence does not support an increased rating beyond 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The clinical evidence did not show any current manifestations of a heart disorder and the veteran's hearing loss disability was assigned a noncompensable evaluation as it did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation under either the old or new VA Rating Schedule. The low back pain, characterized as mechanical in nature, did not demonstrate severe impairment warranting an increased rating beyond 20 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disorder, Bilateral hearing loss disability, Mechanical low back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- June 8, 2000
- Citation
- 0015210
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 0015210.
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 service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability as the evidence did not support a nexus between the disability and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, resolving all doubt in the Veteran's favor based on his in-service noise exposure.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to a lack of jurisdiction.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
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