The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, degenerative arthritis (lumbar spine), and lumbar radiculopathy, right lower extremity. The claims for PTSD, alcohol use disorder, a right shoulder disorder, and sleep apnea were remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board granted service connection for tinnitus based on the onset during active service, while denying bilateral hearing loss due to lack of evidence linking it to an in-service injury or disease. For the lumbar spine disability, the evidence did not support a rating higher than 20 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol use disorder, bilateral hearing loss, degenerative arthritis (lumbar spine), lumbar radiculopathy, right lower extremity (sciatic nerve), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), right shoulder disorder, sleep apnea, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- November 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25101737
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 A25101737.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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