The Veteran's claims for service connection for back and left knee disorders, right ear hearing loss, heart disability, hypertension, and scars have been denied. The Veteran was granted TDIU.,Service connection for depressive disorder has been established with an effective date prior to April 29, 2013.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a nexus between the current diagnoses and service, except for the grant of TDIU which is based on total occupational impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disorder, Left knee disorder, Right ear hearing loss, Heart disability, Hypertension, Scars, Depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18139566
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 18139566.
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
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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