The Veteran's claim for residuals of separated broken ribs has been denied as there is no current diagnosis.,Tinnitus is currently rated at the maximum allowable under Diagnostic Code 6260, and a higher rating is not warranted.,Bilateral hearing loss was granted an increased rating to 20 percent effective March 4, 2014 (the date of the Veteran's TDIU claim).,Osteoarthritis/degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was also granted an increased rating to 40 percent effective March 4, 2014.,The Veteran's claims for Meniere's disease and vertigo/dizziness are remanded as further evaluation is needed.,The Veteran's claims for vertigo/dizziness and Meniere's disease are remanded as further evaluation is needed.
The deciding factor: There is no current diagnosis of residuals from broken ribs. The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran has this condition.,The maximum schedular rating for tinnitus (10%) is already assigned, and there is no basis to assign a higher rating under any other diagnostic code.,The effective date cannot be earlier than March 4, 2014 as it would not be factually ascertainable that the disability worsened in the year prior to this date. The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date must be denied.,The effective date cannot be earlier than March 4, 2014 as it would not be factually ascertainable that the disability worsened in the year prior to this date. The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date must be denied.,Further evaluation is needed to determine if the Veteran has Meniere's disease or vertigo/dizziness.,Further evaluation is needed to determine if the Veteran has Meniere's disease or vertigo/dizziness.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of separated broken ribs, Tinnitus, Bilateral hearing loss, Osteoarthritis/degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Meniere's disease, Vertigo/dizziness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19120196
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 19120196.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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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.
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The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
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The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
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