The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 40 percent for bilateral hearing loss prior to October 2, 2017 was denied. The appeal remains pending.,New and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim for residuals of left clavicle fracture.,Service connection for left shoulder disability (rotator cuff tear and strain) is granted based on a positive medical nexus opinion linking it to service.,The Veteran's claims for right knee disorder and left knee disorder are remanded due to new and material evidence submitted.,Service connection for bilateral knee DJD is granted based on X-ray findings of arthritis in both knees.,The Veteran's claim for respiratory disability, including herbicide exposure, remains pending.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not support a rating higher than 40 percent for bilateral hearing loss prior to October 2, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Bilateral Knee Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), Left Knee Disorder, Left Shoulder Strain and Rotator Cuff Tear, Right Knee Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19191698
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 19191698.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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