The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, right ankle disability, and bilateral hearing loss. The claims for right knee disability, left knee disability, left ankle arthritis, and left leg condition are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion provided by the VA examiner was inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's reported noise exposure in service and his current symptoms of tinnitus and hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, right ankle disability, bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, left knee disability, left ankle arthritis, left leg condition, peripheral vascular disease of the right leg
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 20, 2018
- Citation
- 18112890
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 18112890.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
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