The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine and bilateral knee disability as there was no evidence of chronicity during active service, no evidence of arthritis to any degree within the first year following service, and no competent medical evidence that linked the current back or knee disorders to service.
The deciding factor: The lack of continuity of symptomatology since service and the absence of a nexus between the veteran's current back and knee conditions and his military service were key factors in denying the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, Osteoarthritic changes and degenerative disc disease of the L3rd and L4th lumbar intervertebral spaces (claimed as a back injury), Residuals of right knee injury, Residuals of left knee injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 10, 2009
- Citation
- 0904830
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.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's most recent claim was filed on May 23, 2017.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss disability as the evidence did not support that it began during active service or manifested to a compensable degree within the first post-service year, or was otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 20 percent but no higher for the Veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable rating for the Veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss based on the results of a July 2023 VA examination.
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