The Board has granted an initial disability rating of 20 percent for service-connected residuals of a neck injury with degenerative changes to the cervical spine, effective from September 26, 2003. The veteran's left ear hearing loss is rated as noncompensable.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence showed that forward flexion and backward extension of the cervical spine were limited to 45 degrees with discomfort beginning at 20 degrees after September 26, 2003, meeting the criteria for a 20 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 5242.
- Claimed conditions
- left side tinnitus with balance problems, residuals of a neck injury with degenerative changes to the cervical spine, left ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- March 23, 2006
- Citation
- 0608441
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of left ear hearing loss due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as an addendum opinion is necessary to address evidence of in-service hearing loss and convert audiometric testing results from ASA to ISO-ANSI standards.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss to obtain an adequate VA opinion addressing the hearing loss demonstrated on the September 1968 and July 1974 examination, under both ASA and ISO-ANSI standards.
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