The Veteran's claim for increased ratings and service connection were denied. For bilateral hearing loss, the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating. For migraine headaches, the Veteran's period of service from May 25, 1982 to May 27, 1988 was dishonorable due to willful and persistent misconduct, thus preventing him from receiving VA benefits related to that period. Service connection for right and left knee disabilities were also denied as there is no evidence linking these conditions to service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's period of service from May 25, 1982 to May 27, 1988 was dishonorable due to willful and persistent misconduct, which served as a bar to VA benefits related to that period. The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran's migraine headaches or knee disabilities to his honorable periods of service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, right knee disability, left knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2018
- Citation
- 1820525
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 1820525.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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