The Veteran's bilateral ankle and knee disabilities, as well as his bilateral hearing loss disability, were not shown to have had their onset in service or within one year of discharge. The Board found no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.,Service connection was denied for all three conditions due to a lack of evidence showing a direct link between the disabilities and service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not have any diagnosed disabilities in his lower extremities or hearing during service, nor were there any complaints or treatment records indicating such issues. The Board found no nexus between these current disabilities and military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Ankle Disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss Disability, Osteoarthritis of the bilateral knees
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19105174
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19105174.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are related to his in-service noise exposure.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board has readjudicated the claims for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss disability, cervical spine disability, skin disability, and peripheral neuropathy of both upper extremities. The decision is mixed as some issues are granted while others are remanded.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to inadequate medical opinion in the original decision. The issues are being remanded for further examination and consideration of new evidence.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right foot disability is denied as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease that caused the current condition.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus are also denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not have these conditions during service, nor can they be presumed to have developed within one year after separation from service.,The Veteran's claims for tinnitus were denied as there is no credible evidence of its onset in service or a relationship to noise exposure.
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