The Veteran's current degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is service-connected. The Board also granted service connection for cellulitis, otitis media, tinnitus, nasopharyngeal cancer (claimed as throat cancer), and diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: Service records show that the Veteran was seen with complaints of back pain during service, and he reported having recurrent low back pain on his discharge physical examination. The VA examiner concluded it was at least as likely as not that the Veteran's low back pain had its onset in service.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, cellulitis, otitis media, tinnitus, nasopharyngeal cancer (claimed as throat cancer), degenerative joint disease of both knees, diabetes mellitus, glaucoma (claimed as blindness)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 3, 2009
- Citation
- 0941885
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 0941885.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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