The Board denied service connection for hearing loss (right and left ear), migraines, a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis and lumbosacral strain, and a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy. The claim for service connection for a left ankle condition was remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran had a current disability for VA purposes related to his claimed conditions during the appeal period, and there was no indication of an in-service injury or event that could be linked to these disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss (right ear), Hearing loss (left ear), Migraines, Degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis and lumbosacral strain (mid/lower back condition), Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Left ankle condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2025
- Citation
- A25028309
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 A25028309.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial evaluation for tension headaches to include migraines is granted, with a rating of 50 percent effective from May 23, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for tension and migraine headaches is remanded due to the inadequacy of the September 2020 VA examination report, which did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his migraine headaches was denied as the evidence did not show that his migraines were productive of severe economic inadaptability.
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