The Veteran's current left knee disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service, and is therefore denied. The Board finds the evidence does not support a finding that his bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus are related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's left knee disability was less likely than not related to his inservice injury due to the passage of many years since discharge and the lack of medical documentation prior to the January 2009 examination. The Board also noted that there is no evidence of any complaints or diagnoses of a left knee disorder shown until the VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Chronic Tinnitus, Left Knee Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2010
- Citation
- 1020202
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 1020202.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
- 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 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 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.
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