The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left foot disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. Service connection was granted for tinnitus.,Service connection was not established for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability, left foot disability, bilateral hearing loss, or deviated nasal septum.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence of a chronic lumbar spine disability during service and insufficient post-service medical evidence to establish a nexus between current back pain and service. The Veteran did not have a current diagnosis for his left foot disability and the in-service boot issue was not credible.,Service connection was denied as there is no evidence of a pre-existing left foot disability, and no competent evidence linking any current left foot condition to service. There were no complaints or treatment records indicating a left foot disability during service.,The Board determined that the Veteran did not have a hearing loss disability for VA purposes due to his average decibel loss being below 20 dB in both ears and speech recognition scores of 100% bilaterally, which is not considered a disability. The Veteran denied having hearing loss as recently as December 2014.,The Board found no evidence of tinnitus during service or at separation, and the Veteran's current reports were insufficient to establish a nexus between his current tinnitus and service. Service connection was denied.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, left foot disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, deviated nasal septum
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19192543
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 19192543.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, cubital tunnel syndrome, right plantar fasciitis, and a right knee disability due to the lack of evidence supporting a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
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