The Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc disease is granted service connection. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied, but the Veteran is granted a TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records do not show any complaints or diagnoses related to back pain during service. However, post-service medical evidence shows current lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and the Veteran's statements are consistent with this finding. For hearing loss, there is no in-service diagnosis and the Veteran did not meet VA criteria for a ratable disability.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, bilateral (left and right ear) hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- June 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19149038
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating in excess of the current ratings for various musculoskeletal conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a compensable evaluation for hypertension and granted an increased rating of 20 percent for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease from April 13, 2022. The effective date for the right lower extremity radiculopathy was also granted as May 10, 2016.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to September 20, 2018, for the award of service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining a retrospective medical opinion regarding the severity of the Veteran's service-connected conditions without the use of pain medication and securing the credentials of the VA examiners.
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