The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 40 percent for degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine has been denied.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected headaches has been denied.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for vertigo has been denied.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss has been denied.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus has been denied.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for sleep apnea has been denied.,The effective date claims for the grant of service connection for right lower extremity sciatic radulopathy, femoral radulopathy, and sleep apnea have all been denied.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of a 50 percent rating for service-connected headaches has been denied.,The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for right lower extremity sciatic radulopathy and femoral radulopathy have all been denied.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for sleep apnea has been denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a rating in excess of 40 percent for degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine as it does not meet the criteria for unfavorable ankylosis.,There is no legal basis for a schedular rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected headaches, and remand for referral for consideration on an extraschedular basis is not warranted.,The evidence does not support a rating in excess of 10 percent for vertigo as the episodes are occasional rather than frequent.,Bilateral hearing loss has been assigned the maximum schedular rating under Diagnostic Code 6100, and no higher rating is warranted.,There is no legal basis for a schedular rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus as it is already at its maximum under Diagnostic Code 6260.,The evidence does not support a rating in excess of 50 percent for sleep apnea as the Veteran's condition does not meet the criteria for chronic respiratory failure or cor pulmonale, nor does it require a tracheostomy.,The effective date claims are denied because the earliest dates of receipt of claims for service connection have been established.,The effective date claims are denied because the earliest dates of receipt of claims for service connection have been established.,The effective date claims are denied because the earliest dates of receipt of claims for service connection have been established.,The effective date claims are denied because the earliest dates of receipt of claims for service connection have been established.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, Vertigo, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21067649
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 21067649.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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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.
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The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder and discectomy with lumbar discogenic pain but granted a 20% initial rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy from April 18, 2023 through January 16, 2024. The service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss but granted for left knee Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD).
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