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Whole decision: Denied

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability is denied as there was no in-service occurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disability is denied as there was no in-service occurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable evaluation for her service-connected bilateral hearing loss is denied due to the lack of evidence showing significant hearing impairment that would warrant such a rating.,The Veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent disabling for her service-connected hypertension is denied as her symptoms do not meet the criteria for higher ratings.

The deciding factor: There was no documented occurrence or aggravation of back or left knee injuries during active service, and there is insufficient evidence to establish continuity of symptomatology post-service.,The Veteran's service treatment records did not document any in-service occurrences or aggravations of a left knee injury or disease. There is also insufficient evidence to establish continuity of symptomatology for the left knee disability.,The audiometric testing results do not indicate significant hearing impairment that would warrant a compensable rating, and there are no exceptional patterns of hearing impairment present.,Her hypertension requires continuous medication but her diastolic pressure has generally been below 100 and her systolic pressure has generally been below 200, which does not meet the criteria for higher ratings.

Claimed conditions
Back Disability, Left Knee Disability
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
September 24, 2018
Citation
18137485

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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18137485.

What this means for you

A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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