The Veteran's appeal for service connection of a bilateral hearing loss disability has been dismissed as moot due to the grant of such benefit in February 2018. The claims for right fourth finger, bilateral hand, and left knee disabilities have not met the criteria for service connection.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established without evidence of an in-service injury or disease and a current disability that is linked to the in-service event or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss Disability, Right Fourth Finger Disability, Bilateral Hand Disability, Bursitis of Both Hips, Left Knee Strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 8, 2018
- Citation
- 1813255
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 1813255.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's right and left knee strains, as well as shin splints, were granted increased ratings. The Veteran also received special monthly compensation at the housebound rate from October 25, 2017 to March 11, 2024.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes and therefore, service connection is denied. The claims for tinnitus, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD), obstructive sleep apnea, and left knee strain are remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are related to his in-service noise exposure.
- Granted
The reduction of the rating for service-connected left knee strain from 30 percent to 10 percent was not proper, and restoration of the 30 percent rating is granted.
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