The Veteran's service connection claim for a lumbar spine disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of in-service injury or disease related to this condition.,The Veteran's hearing loss and hypothyroidism were both evaluated at their current levels, but he requested higher evaluations. A new VA examination is needed to determine if his disabilities are more severe than currently rated.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established because there is no evidence of a lumbar spine disability in service or any link between the Veteran's current condition and service.,The Veteran requested higher evaluations for his hearing loss and hypothyroidism, but the Board found that the existing medical records did not support an increase in rating.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, bilateral hearing loss, hypothyroidism, cervical spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19167371
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,757 · Granted: 23% (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 19167371.
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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.
- 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 bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- 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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