The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date, service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a right hand condition, and high blood pressure. A 10 percent rating was granted for left hand degenerative joint disease, but no higher.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability or a nexus to service for the claimed conditions, except for the left hand where functional loss due to pain was acknowledged.
- Claimed conditions
- Major depressive disorder, Bilateral hearing loss, Right hand condition, High blood pressure (hypertension)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 5, 2024
- Citation
- 24000961
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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