The Veteran's claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or causal relationship to service.,Service connection for swelling of the left testicle was denied due to lack of documented pathology and continuity of symptomatology.,Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not granted service connection as they did not manifest within the applicable presumptive period and there is no evidence linking them to in-service noise exposure or other events.,Service connection for eczematous dermatitis was denied due to lack of a current diagnosis related to service, including fuel exposure during service.,Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was granted a 20% rating as it meets the criteria under Diagnostic Code 5242.,Increased rating for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was not granted as there is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis.
The deciding factor: The Veteran does not have a current psychiatric disability or any other diagnosed condition that can be linked to service. The VA examiner found no clinically significant mental health symptoms and no diagnosis of PTSD.,There is no documented pathology for swelling of the left testicle, and there is no established continuity of symptomatology related to in-service exposure.,Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not manifest within a year of separation from service or during service. The VA examiner found no causal relationship between these conditions and noise exposure.,The Veteran's eczematous dermatitis was noted as having developed after his last period of active service, and there is no evidence linking it to in-service fuel exposure.,Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine meets the criteria for a 20% rating under Diagnostic Code 5242. There is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis.,The Veteran's degenerative arthritis does not meet the criteria for higher ratings as there is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD), Swelling of the left testicle, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Eczematous dermatitis, Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- A19002899
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
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