The Veteran's hearing loss in the left ear and DJD of bilateral shoulders, right shoulder, left shoulder, right elbow, left elbow, right knee, and left knee are all granted as service-connected.
The deciding factor: Service connection is established for hearing loss in the left ear due to combat-related noise exposure during service. Service connection is also established for DJD of the bilateral shoulders, right shoulder, left shoulder, right elbow, left elbow, right knee, and left knee based on continuity of symptomatology since service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of bilateral shoulders, Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of left elbow, Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of left knee, Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of left shoulder, Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of right elbow, Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of right knee, Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of right shoulder, Hearing loss in left ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19112852
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,762 · Granted: 24% (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 19112852.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for TDIU, DEA eligibility based on permanent and total disability status, a compensable rating for hearing loss in the left ear, and an increased rating for major depressive disorder have all been denied. The effective dates for these decisions are not applicable as they were made after the relevant look-back periods.
- Granted
The Veteran's hearing loss in his left ear is rated as noncompensable, while he is granted a 10 percent rating for his bilateral lower extremity onychomycosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for hearing loss of both ears due to inconsistencies in audiometric findings and need for further clarification on the nature and etiology of his hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss has been reopened, and the earlier effective date claim for right knee patellofemoral syndrome is being remanded.,The Veteran's request for an increased rating for his right knee patellofemoral syndrome is also being remanded.
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