The Board has granted service connection for major depressive disorder caused by service-connected disabilities, including left knee disability. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim is denied as there is no current diagnosis of a hearing loss disability. A 10 percent rating is granted for the left knee disability effective March 29, 2016.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran has major depressive disorder caused by his service-connected disabilities and granted a 10 percent rating for the left knee disability based on painful motion without compensable limitation of motion.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- December 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20081382
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 17% (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 20081382.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected 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 Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
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