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
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
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The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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