The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disorder, left knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The denial of the right knee claim is final as it was previously denied in December 1997 without new and material evidence being submitted. The left knee and hearing loss/tinnitus claims are pending.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service treatment records did not show a current diagnosis for any knee disorder, and his VA examination found no current right or left knee disability. For the bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus claims, the Board finds that additional evidence is needed to determine if in-service noise exposure caused or aggravated these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Disorder, Left Knee Disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 3, 2015
- Citation
- 1509130
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 1509130.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
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