The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected unilateral left ear hearing loss and right knee disability were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 10 percent for the left ear hearing loss or a rating in excess of 30 percent since November 1, 2009 for the right knee disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and medical records showed consistent audiometric results with average puretone thresholds ranging from 21 to 80 decibels in the left ear, and speech recognition ability between 96% and 86%. For the right knee, the April 2010 VA examination noted that there was no evidence of any joint function loss due to complaints of pain, and there was no pain noted on extension and flexion. The Veteran reported difficulty hearing in various situations.
- Claimed conditions
- Unilateral left ear hearing loss, Degenerative joint disease and exostosis of the right knee, status post total knee arthroplasty (TKA)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 16, 2011
- Citation
- 1134832
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 1134832.
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