The Veteran's low back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and bilateral hearing loss are currently rated as 10 percent each. The Board denied increased ratings for these conditions.,Service connection for a traumatic brain injury (TBI), migraine headaches secondary to TBI, and an acquired psychiatric disorder secondary to TBI was not granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show the presence of intervertebral disc syndrome or incapacitating episodes that would warrant a higher rating. The Veteran's radiculopathy symptoms were considered mild.,There is no current diagnosis of TBI, and the Veteran’s headaches are not etiologically related to service. His acquired psychiatric disorder was also not found to be related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disability, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Bilateral hearing loss, Traumatic brain injury (TBI), Migraine headaches, Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19165138
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (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 19165138.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
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