The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and to reopen a claim of service connection for hearing loss, as new and material evidence was not submitted.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence had not been received to support the reopened claim for service connection for hearing loss. The veteran's knee disabilities did not meet the criteria for higher ratings based on the current severity of symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- hearing loss, right knee disability, left knee disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2008
- Citation
- 0815778
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 120 · Granted: 40% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0815778.
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus. However, it was determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus for VA purposes, thus denying both claims.
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