The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, and arthritis of both knees and ankles as there was no evidence to support a nexus between these conditions and his military service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's claimed conditions to his period of active duty. The only competent opinions indicated that the veteran's hearing loss, tinnitus, knee strain, and ankle strain are not related to his service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Bilateral Tinnitus, Arthritis of the Right Knee, Arthritis of the Left Knee, Arthritis of the Right Ankle, Arthritis of the Left Ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2008
- Citation
- 0813888
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asbestosis, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was also denied a compensable rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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