The Veteran's hypertension and arthritis, as well as left knee, right knee, left ankle, and right ankle conditions are not service-connected.,His bilateral hearing loss is rated at zero percent. The Veteran does not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on his current audiometric findings.,PTSD with major depressive disorder was granted an initial 70 percent disability rating effective July 2, 2013, but no higher. The Veteran's PTSD symptoms do not warrant a higher rating at this time.,The Veteran's service connection for PTSD with MDD is denied as his claim was filed after the one-year presumptive period and there is no evidence of continuity of symptomatology post-service.,Service connection for arthritis, left knee condition, right knee condition, left ankle condition, right ankle condition, asthma, sleep apnea, and headaches are all denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hypertension was not incurred in service or related to his military service. The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection.,Bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at zero percent based on the average puretone threshold findings from the last VA examination, which do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,PTSD with MDD was granted an initial 70 percent disability rating effective July 2, 2013. The Veteran's symptoms do not warrant a higher rating at this time as they are currently manifested by occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas of functioning but not total occupational and social impairment.,Service connection for PTSD with MDD was denied because the claim was filed after the one-year presumptive period, and there is no evidence of continuity of symptomatology post-service. The Veteran's symptoms do not meet the criteria for a higher rating at this time.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, bilateral hearing loss, arthritis, left knee condition, right knee condition, left ankle condition, right ankle condition, asthma, sleep apnea, headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- October 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19181494
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.
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- Dismissed
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- Denied
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