The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right and left knee strains, and PTSD have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of in-service noise exposure or continuity of symptoms postservice sufficient to establish service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and medical opinions consistently found no nexus between current hearing loss, knee strain, or PTSD and service or any other etiological factor.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, right knee strain, left knee strain, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19180446
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 17, 2022, for the grant of service connection for PTSD.
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