The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for right and left knee disabilities due to improper concurrent election of multiple review options, and denied an initial compensable rating for the service-connected left ear hearing loss as well as service connection for right ear hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on procedural defects related to the Veteran's concurrent election of multiple administrative review options, and the evidence did not support a higher disability rating or service connection for the claimed conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee strain with patellofemoral pain syndrome, tendinitis, and shin splints, left knee strain with patellofemoral pain syndrome, tendinitis, and shin splints, right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25029085
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of left ear hearing loss due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as an addendum opinion is necessary to address evidence of in-service hearing loss and convert audiometric testing results from ASA to ISO-ANSI standards.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for right ear hearing loss, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor based on a finding of etiological relation to in-service noise exposure.
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