The Veteran's claims for left knee, right knee, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and scars from appendectomy surgery were denied. The Veteran was granted service connection for tinnitus but not for the other conditions.,For PTSD, the Veteran received a rating of 70% which is the maximum allowed under current criteria.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support the presence of any current disabilities for left knee, right knee, bilateral hearing loss, or scars from appendectomy surgery. The VA examiner found no pathology to render a diagnosis for tinnitus and noted that the Veteran's service treatment records were silent for complaints or diagnoses related to these conditions.,For PTSD, the Veteran was diagnosed with PTSD and dysthymia but her symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating as she had occupational and social impairment without frequent decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Knee Disability, Right Knee Disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Scars from Bilateral Breast Biopsy, Scars from Appendectomy Surgery
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18143335
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 18143335.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- 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.
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