The Veteran's bilateral foot disability, tinnitus, and degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine have been granted service connection. The initial rating for tinnitus has been increased to 40 percent, effective January 31, 2017. The effective date for service connection for back disability is set at January 31, 2017.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's bilateral foot disabilities were found to be secondary to his service-connected left ankle and lower extremity conditions. His tinnitus was granted a higher initial rating of 40 percent effective January 31, 2017, as the evidence did not support an extraschedular evaluation. The effective date for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine was set at January 31, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral foot disability, tinnitus, degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081094
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,446 · Granted: 21% (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 20081094.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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