The Veteran's appeal is denied as his knee disabilities do not warrant ratings in excess of the current assigned ratings.,The Veteran's tinnitus, left ear hearing loss, and right ear hearing loss are all rated at their maximum levels.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a higher rating for any of the conditions listed. The Veteran’s knee disabilities have been evaluated based on their functional limitations as per VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Knee Instability, Left Knee Traumatic Arthritis with Limitation of Extension, Tinnitus, Left Ear Hearing Loss, Right Ear Hearing Loss, Peroneal Motor Axonal Demyelinating Neuropathy (left lower extremity), Left Femoral Nerve Neuropathy and Radiculopathy with Quadriceps Atrophy, Major Depressive Disorder with Insomnia Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19129680
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70% rating for PTSD from November 25, 2015 to August 12, 2024 and a 40% rating for the right shoulder disability. It also granted 10% ratings for both feet and 20% ratings for knee patellofemoral pain syndromes.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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