The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and denied his requests for increased ratings for lumbar strain with muscle spasm and soft tissue injury, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy. The effective date for separate ratings of 20% for right lower extremity radiculopathy and 10% for left lower extremity radiculopathy was set at August 21, 2015.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show current hearing loss disability for VA purposes in either ear. The increase in severity of the Veteran's radiculopathy was not factually ascertainable prior to August 21, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, lumbar strain with muscle spasm and soft tissue injury, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19160490
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,164 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19160490.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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