The Veteran's service-connected Meniere's disease is granted an initial 60 percent rating effective prior to December 19, 2019.,The Veteran's service-connected GERD is granted an initial 30 percent rating effective December 19, 2019.,The Veteran's service-connected left knee strain is granted an initial 20 percent rating effective December 19, 2019.,The Veteran's service-connected allergic rhinitis does not warrant a compensable rating.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports the assignment of an initial 60 percent rating for Meniere's disease prior to December 19, 2019, based on symptoms including hearing impairment and vertigo occurring more than once weekly.,For GERD, the Veteran is granted a 30 percent rating effective December 19, 2019, due to persistent symptoms such as reflux, regurgitation, substernal pain, and sleep disturbance. Prior to this date, the disability was rated non-compensable.,The initial 20 percent rating for left knee strain is granted effective December 19, 2019, based on frequent episodes of joint locking and joint pain. The Veteran's prior ratings were at 10 percent.,Allergic rhinitis does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating as it did not result in greater than 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side.
- Claimed conditions
- Meniere's disease, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Left knee strain, Allergic rhinitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- December 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20078466
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 20078466.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for Meniere's disease, to include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), secondary to tinnitus and dismissed the claims for a left knee disability, right knee disability, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and conducting VA examinations.
- Denied
The appeal for higher ratings and effective dates for various conditions was denied, with the exception of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy which were granted an earlier effective date.
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