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, and any claimed PTSD is not related to service. The VA examiner found no clinically significant mental health symptoms during or after service.,There is no documented swelling of the left testicle in service records, and continuity of symptomatology was not established post-service. The VA examiner found no pathology for this condition.,Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not manifest within a year of separation from service, and there is no evidence linking these conditions to in-service noise exposure or other events.,The Veteran's eczematous dermatitis was noted after his last period of active service. The VA examiner concluded that the condition is unrelated to service exposures.,The Veteran has degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, which meets the criteria for a 20% rating under Diagnostic Code 5242.,There is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis or other factors warranting a higher rating.

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

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 A19002899.