The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his cervical and lumbar spine conditions, as well as service connection for neurological damage to the arms and legs, bilateral hip disability, bilateral ankle disability, and osteoarthritis of the knees are denied.,The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a bilateral shoulder disability or bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims were denied as there is no legal basis upon which to award higher ratings for his service-connected conditions, and he did not meet the criteria for service connection due to lack of evidence of current disabilities.,There was insufficient evidence to determine if the Veteran had a current diagnosis of bilateral shoulder disability or bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Tinnitus, Lumbar Spinal Strain, Cervical Spine Strain, Neurological Damage to Arms and Legs, Bilateral Hip Disability, Bilateral Ankle Disability, Osteoarthritis of the Knees
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2018
- Citation
- 1819386
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 1819386.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus disabilities, finding that these conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus was granted with a 10% disability rating effective October 30, 2020. The Board found that the earliest date of application for this claim is November 25, 2019.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for bilateral tinnitus is dismissed as he has withdrawn his appeal.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss prior to May 3, 2006, is denied.,The Veteran's claim for a disability rating of 10 percent, but no higher, for bilateral hearing loss from May 3, 2006, to November 2, 2023, is granted.,The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss from November 3, 2023, and continuing, is denied.,The Veteran's claim for Total Disability Rating Based on Unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the decision on appeal is legally inadequate due to insufficient notification and an inadequately supported medical opinion. The case is being remanded for further action.
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