The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and higher initial disability ratings of 70%, 40%, and 20% for PTSD, back disability, and left lower extremity radiculopathy respectively. The claims for higher ratings for right hip limitations and eye photophobia were denied.
The deciding factor: The Board granted service connection based on in-service loud noise exposure (acoustic trauma) and assigned higher initial disability ratings where the evidence supported a more severe level of impairment than initially rated.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Posttraumatic stress disorder with somatic symptom disorder and alcohol use disorder (PTSD), Lumbosacral strain with intervertebral disc syndrome and kyphosis (back disability), Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Left knee strain, Right knee strain, Right hip limitation of adduction, Right hip limitation of extension, Right hip limitation of flexion, Bilateral eye photophobia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25100649
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 A25100649.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there was no nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
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