The claim for an initial rating higher than 10 percent from May 9, 2012 and continuing thereafter for bilateral tinnitus is dismissed.,The petition to reopen the claim of service connection for a left knee disorder is granted.,The petition to reopen the claim of service connection for a right knee disorder is granted.,The petition to reopen the claim of service connection for a cervical spine disorder, secondary to service-connected lumbar spine disorder, is granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran verbally withdrew his appeal concerning the initial rating higher than 10 percent from May 9, 2012 and continuing thereafter for bilateral tinnitus in the June 2019 Board hearing.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral tinnitus, Left knee disorder, Right knee disorder, Cervical spine disorder (secondary to service-connected lumbar spine disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19187552
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for annual clothing allowances for a left knee sleeve, A&D ointment, hydrocortisone cream, and incontinence briefs due to lack of service connection or evidence that these items cause irreparable damage to outer garments.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right knee disorder, and a lumbar spine disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a heart disability, granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus and right knee osteochondritis dissecans, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear s/p ACL reconstruction, and denied an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder with generalized anxiety disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, as the evidence did not show that his service-connected disabilities alone were of such nature and severity to preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
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