The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the dorsal spine is rated at 10 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board finds that there is no evidence to support a disability rating in excess of 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The most probative evidence does not reach the level of equipoise as to whether the Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the dorsal spine manifested functional impairment equivalent to a 20 percent rating at any time during the rating period.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Arthritis of the Dorsal Spine, Ischemic Heart Disease, Diabetes Mellitus Type II with Diabetic Nephropathy, Labyrinthitis, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19187019
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,890 · Granted: 32% (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 19187019.
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
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