The Board has denied service connection for a neck disability, but granted service connection for low back, right knee, and right ankle disabilities. Service connection was also denied for bilateral hearing loss and thyroid disorder.,Service connection is granted for the Veteran's low back disability, with reasonable doubt favoring the claim.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish a current diagnosis of a neck or cervical spine disability, but finds that his low back disorder is at least as likely as not related to service. The right knee and ankle disabilities are linked to in-service injuries, while bilateral hearing loss and thyroid disorder do not meet the VA definition for these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- neck disability, low back disability, right knee disability, right ankle disability, bilateral hearing loss, thyroid disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2020
- Citation
- 20013703
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 20013703.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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