The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as he does not have a current disability.,A 30 percent rating, but no higher, for GERD is granted. The Veteran has symptoms of considerable impairment of health and the evidence shows that his GERD causes considerable impairment of health.,The Veteran's cervical spine disability is rated at 10 percent as there is pain and some limitation of motion without more severe manifestations such as ankylosis or significant range of motion limitations.,The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability is rated at 10 percent due to the presence of pain and some limitation of motion, but without evidence of more severe manifestations like ankylosis or significant range of motion limitations.,The Veteran's TBI residuals are not shown to warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent as they do not meet the criteria for higher ratings under Diagnostic Code 8045.,The Veteran's psoriasis is not shown to manifest as characteristic lesions involving at least 5 percent of the entire body or requiring intermittent systemic therapy, thus preventing him from receiving a compensable rating.
The deciding factor: Service connection for bilateral hearing loss cannot be granted because the Veteran does not have a current disability that began during service or is related to an in-service injury.,The Veteran's GERD causes considerable impairment of health and meets the criteria for a 30 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 7346, but not higher as his symptoms do not meet the criteria for more severe manifestations such as aspiration, undernutrition, or substantial weight loss.,The cervical spine disability does not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent due to the presence of pain and some limitation of motion without evidence of more severe manifestations like ankylosis or significant range of motion limitations.,The thoracolumbar spine disability does not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent as it only shows pain and some limitation of motion, which is consistent with the current 10 percent rating.,The TBI residuals do not meet the criteria for higher ratings under Diagnostic Code 8045 due to their level of impairment.,Psoriasis does not manifest as characteristic lesions involving at least 5 percent of the entire body or requiring intermittent systemic therapy, thus preventing him from receiving a compensable rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Cervical Spine Disability, Thoracolumbar Spine Disability, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Residuals
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2024
- Citation
- A24064747
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (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 A24064747.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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