The Veteran's appeal was denied for all issues except gout, which received a 20% disability rating. The remaining conditions were either not granted or had their ratings denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings in most cases due to lack of objective findings or incapacitating exacerbations as required by Diagnostic Codes.
- Claimed conditions
- glaucoma, left shoulder bursitis, diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis of the right wrist, osteoarthritis of the left wrist, gout, coronary artery disease, status-post angioplasty with stent placement, adjustment disorder with depressed mood, osteoarthritis of the right elbow (dominant), osteoarthritis of the left elbow, hypertension, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, erectile dysfunction, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2009
- Citation
- 0915817
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 0915817.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
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