The VA has denied an increased disability rating for the veteran's bilateral otitis externa, as it is already rated at the maximum schedular disability rating.
The deciding factor: The veteran's current 10% disability rating for bilateral otitis externa is the highest available under the applicable rating criteria and there is no evidence of exceptional or unusual impairment that would warrant an extraschedular evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral otitis externa
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2003
- Citation
- 0300700
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,464 · Granted: 14% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0300700.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for skin cancer and assigned a 40 percent disability rating for left shoulder strain, while denying service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, flatfoot bilateral, erectile dysfunction, and other conditions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the motion to revise a November 1976 rating decision that granted service connection for bilateral otitis externa with a noncompensable rating on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE).
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the remand instructions were not fulfilled and this matter must be returned for further development, including securing an adequate VA examination and opinion regarding the etiology of bilateral hearing loss.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine, left ankle deltoid ligament sprain, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, bilateral otitis externa, eczema, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain with osteoarthritis, tinnitus, left varicocele, and cystitis, render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
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