The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for hearing loss and cervical spine disorder, as well as service connection claims for right and left knee disorders, were denied. The rating for the cervical spine was granted at a 20 percent level effective September 1, 2015.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable VA rating schedule due to lack of functional impairment or medical documentation supporting increased disability levels.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing Loss, Cervical Spine Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 9, 2019
- Citation
- A19003415
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19003415.
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 service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss as there is no current diagnosis of a bilateral hearing disability for VA purposes, and the Veteran did not have a hearing loss disability at any time during or recent to the filing of his claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, asthma, and foot conditions, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history throughout the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss as there is no current diagnosis of a disability that meets VA's criteria for a disability.
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