The Board remands the issue of entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 40 percent for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD) for issuance of a statement of the case.

The Board granted service connection for right knee strain, left hip strain, right hip arthritis, and lumbar spine degenerative disc disease as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected chronic iliotibial band syndrome of the left knee. The appeal was denied for service connection for right ear hearing loss.

The Board remanded the issues of entitlement to earlier effective dates for RLE and LLE radiculopathy service connection awards, finding that the AOJ failed to reconsider these claims under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c) after receipt of relevant official service department records. The Board remanded for a VA medical opinion to determine whether the radiculopathy onset occurred prior to September 15, 1999.

The appeal for earlier effective dates and initial ratings for service-connected conditions was withdrawn by the Veteran, thus these claims are dismissed.

The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 20 percent prior to March 18, 2024, for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD) as the evidence did not support a higher rating.