The Board found that the veteran's current right foot and bilateral tinnitus disabilities are not related to his active duty service. The veteran was denied service connection for a right foot disability, as there is no evidence of chronic disability resulting from an inservice injury. For tinnitus, the veteran received the maximum allowable rating under Diagnostic Code 6260 (10 percent), and separate ratings for each ear are not allowed.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran's current right foot/right great toe disorder is not related to service due to lack of chronicity post-service. The examiner noted no documentation of a fracture, but rather attributed the hallux rigidus to wear and tear throughout his life. For tinnitus, the Board applied the revised criteria under Diagnostic Code 6260, which provided for a maximum 10 percent evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Foot Disability, Bilateral Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 2, 2004
- Citation
- 0405684
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,500 · Granted: 17% (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 0405684.
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: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right foot disability, finding that the evidence is at least approximately evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's post-service disability was incurred in service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right foot, hip, and knee disabilities due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not obtaining opinions on causation or aggravation.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for erectile dysfunction and voiding dysfunction have been denied due to the lack of evidence linking these conditions to his in-service exposure.,The remaining service connection claims (for bilateral feet, ankles, hip, wrist, cervical spine, upper extremity radiculopathy, psychiatric disorder, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension) are remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus was granted with a 10% disability rating effective October 30, 2020. The Board found that the earliest date of application for this claim is November 25, 2019.
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