The appeal for service connection for a thyroid condition and a bilateral foot condition (claimed as cold weather flatfoot) was dismissed due to a prohibited concurrent election. The appeal for right ear hearing loss was denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence of record does not support the claim for right ear hearing loss, as there is no current diagnosis per VA standards during the pendency of the claim or recent to its filing.
- Claimed conditions
- thyroid condition, bilateral foot condition (claimed as cold weather flatfoot), right ear hearing loss, left knee condition, right knee condition, left elbow condition, right elbow condition, left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, tinnitus, left ear hearing loss, sleep apnea, back condition, neck condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25022172
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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