The Board has dismissed the appeals of service connection for left ear and right ear hearing loss disabilities, as well as the compensable rating for those disabilities. The application to reopen claims for residuals of cold weather injury, a left shoulder disability, and a left knee disability have been granted. Service connection is established for these conditions on a secondary basis due to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus.
The deciding factor: The Board found that new evidence submitted since previous decisions supported reopening the claims and establishing service connection for the disabilities in question.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ear hearing loss, Right ear hearing loss, Left shoulder disability, Left knee disability, Left thumb disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19186831
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for right and left shoulder disabilities, as the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Denied
The appeal for higher ratings and effective dates for various conditions was denied, with the exception of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy which were granted an earlier effective date.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.