The Veteran's left and right foot pes planus disabilities are found to be aggravated by service, warranting service connection. The bilateral hearing loss disability is denied as not related to service.
The deciding factor: The STRs show the Veteran had preexisting pes planus that worsened during service, leading to permanent aggravation. For hearing loss, there was no evidence of acoustic trauma or noise exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Foot Pes Planus, Right Foot Pes Planus
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2022
- Citation
- 22059553
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 22059553.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's right foot pes planus was restored to a 10 percent rating effective July 1, 2020. The evidence did not show actual improvement in the disability under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Denied
The Board found no evidence to support a service connection claim for the left foot disability, as there is no credible evidence linking any current left foot condition to an in-service injury or event.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's pre-existing right foot disability was aggravated by his service, and thus grants service connection for a right foot disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right foot pes planus (flatfoot) has been denied. The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's symptoms more closely approximate severe bilateral flatfeet.
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