The Board granted service connection for right lumbar radiculopathy as secondary to a lumbar spine disability, and for right ear hearing loss. The Board also granted initial ratings of 10 percent for a right big toe scar and 20 percent for residuals of a right foot injury with recurrent ingrown toenail infections.
The deciding factor: The evidence supported the nexus between the current disabilities and the Veteran's service, including exposure to hazardous noise during service for the hearing loss claim.
- Claimed conditions
- right lumbar radiculopathy, right ear hearing loss, right big toe scar, residuals of right foot injury with recurrent ingrown toenail infections
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 27, 2025
- Citation
- A25047012
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left foot condition, right foot condition, cellulitis, right ear hearing loss, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal of the proposal to reduce a 40 percent evaluation for lumbosacral strain was dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 70 percent for the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder due to another medical condition with depressive features and generalized anxiety disorder, denied a higher rating for his migraine including migraine variants, and denied ratings for other conditions.
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