The Board denied the veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to February 7, 2013, because the evidence showed the veteran was able to maintain full-time employment during that period.
The deciding factor: The deciding factor was the veteran's ability to maintain full-time employment prior to February 7, 2013.
- Claimed conditions
- posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), right maxillary sinusitis, neuroforaminal narrowing with C3-5 osteophytes (claimed as cervicalgia), right achilles tendonitis, left achilles tendonitis, bilateral pes planus (claimed as plantar fasciitis and pain on the bottom of the feet), tinnitus associated with bilateral hearing loss, microcytic, hypochromic anemia, pseudofolliculitis barbae, essential hypertension (claimed as heart palpitations), carpal tunnel syndrome, right upper extremity, carpal tunnel syndrome, left upper extremity, bilateral hearing loss, erectile dysfunction associated with PTSD, stiff person syndrome (claimed as neurologic condition), headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2025
- Citation
- 25000550
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 163 · 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 25000550.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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