The Veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, increased rating for right knee arthritis, and compensable disability rating for left eye cataract were all denied. The decision did not address the service connection claim as it was decided on the merits.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not meet the criteria for a current hearing loss disability or establish continuity of symptomatology to support a grant of service connection for hearing loss. For right knee arthritis, there was no evidence of ankylosis, dislocation of semilunar cartilage, impairment of tibia and fibula, genu recurvatum, or symptomatic scarring. The left eye cataract did not cause visual impairment or result in incapacitating episodes.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss, Right Knee Degenerative Arthritis, Left Eye Cataract
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19157589
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 19157589.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
- Granted
The Veteran's entitlement to higher level of SMC at the intermediate rate is granted, effective from January 8, 2021. He was previously in need of aid and attendance due to his left knee disability since February 1, 2017, and now has additional disabilities rated at 50 percent or more.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss disability is not related to military noise exposure and there is no evidence of a nexus between in-service noise exposure and his current condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the hearing loss claim due to incomplete records and the need for a VA examination. The Veteran's hearing loss may be related to service or secondary to his service-connected cerumen impaction.
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