The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right ear hearing loss and an increased rating for residuals of right (major) 5th finger fracture, but granted service connection for a back condition secondary to service-connected bilateral pes planus.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence linking the current right ear hearing loss or the current back condition to active duty service. The veteran's right ear hearing loss did not meet VA criteria for a disability and there was insufficient medical evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and service. For the increased rating claim, the Board found that the veteran's residuals of right (major) 5th finger fracture did not warrant an increase beyond the currently assigned 10 percent rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ear Hearing Loss, Back Condition, secondary to service-connected bilateral pes planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2001
- Citation
- 0102402
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 0102402.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, except for a 20 percent rating for lumbosacral strain.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD, denied ratings in excess of 30 percent for left and right knee strains, granted separate 10 percent ratings for painful, noncompensable limitation of flexion of the knees, granted service connection for back condition and related radiculopathies, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a right shoulder condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, except for remanding certain service connection claims.
- Granted
The Board granted increased ratings for sinusitis, left knee condition, right knee condition, back condition, and right hip condition, effective from August 15, 2023.
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