The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of bilateral hearing loss, GERD, right knee disability, left knee disability, and elevated cholesterol. The remaining issues were remanded.,The Board denied service connection for a right foot disability, left foot disability, right lower extremity circulatory disability, left lower extremity circulatory disability, and low back disability.
The deciding factor: There is no credible evidence of chronic symptoms in service or since service that are causally related to the Veteran's current disabilities. The Veteran did not report any foot issues during his military service, and there is no medical evidence linking these conditions to his time in service.,The Veteran has been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease with spondylosis but provided conflicting accounts of when he experienced back pain. There was also a lack of credible evidence connecting the Veteran's current disabilities to his service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss Disability, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome of the Right Knee (Right Knee Disability), Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome of the Left Knee (Left Knee Disability), Acquired Psychiatric Disability (claimed as Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety, and/or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD))
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065606
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 20065606.
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 acquired psychiatric disorder is granted a 70% rating, effective July 15, 2024. The Veteran's GERD remains at a 10% rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted at a 70 percent rating prior to July 29, 2024. The GERD rating remains at 30 percent disabled but no higher.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's IBS with GERD was granted an initial 60 percent rating. The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and development.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected IBS and GERD, finding that the evidence does not support a higher rating under the applicable criteria.
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