The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected disabilities, finding that they do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to perform sedentary work as an administrator and part-time clerk. The Board found that he could maintain his usual occupation despite any physical difficulties due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, chronic low back strain, degenerative disc disease, facet degenerative joint disease, laceration of left heel, healed, with dysesthesias and loss of sensation in sural nerve distribution, left ankle degenerative tibial talar joint calcaneus enthesopathy, simple, old well healed fracture, left clavicle, secondary traumatic arthritis, right knee, patellar tendonitis, chondromalacia and chronic musculoligamentous strain, tinnitus, hypertension, healed fracture 1st metacarpal, right thumb, scar to left heel, painful and tender
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19137369
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · 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 19137369.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
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