The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was rated as noncompensable from November 30, 2007 to July 14, 2015 and as 20 percent disabling thereafter. The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the right knee was rated as 10 percent disabling.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations conducted in April 2009, November 2010, August 2012, and July 2015 did not include range of motion testing for both knees in passive motion, weight-bearing, and nonweight-bearing situations as required by Correia v. McDonald.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Degenerative Arthritis of the Right Knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- September 15, 2017
- Citation
- 1739681
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 1739681.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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