The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis, right lower radiculopathy, and tinnitus, and assigned a 70 percent disability rating for posttraumatic stress disorder.
The deciding factor: The evidence was at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's tinnitus is related to her active service, and the Board resolved all doubt in favor of the Veteran. The degenerative arthritis and radiculopathy were directly linked to her service-connected low back condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis (claimed as low back pain), Right lower radiculopathy (claimed as sciatic radicular pain and pares right leg), Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- July 1, 2025
- Citation
- A25056924
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to a lack of jurisdiction.
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