The Board denied the Veteran's claims for tuberculosis, knee disability, and hearing loss. The claim to reopen service connection for residuals of a head injury and cyst on the brain was denied. The claim to reopen service connection for fungus on the fingernails and toenails was granted. The claim to reopen service connection for shin splints and heel spurs was denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not meet the criteria for direct service connection as there is no competent medical evidence of a current diagnosis or persistent symptoms related to active service, including noise exposure in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- Tuberculosis, Degenerative joint disease of the knees (knee disability), Fungus on the fingernails and toenails, Shin splints and heel spurs, Bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2014
- Citation
- 1404129
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 1404129.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) do not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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