The Board remands the claims for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and a compensable disability rating for left ear hearing loss due to an inadequate VA examination.
The deciding factor: The January 2025 VA examinations were found to be inadequate, as they did not properly evaluate the severity of the Veteran's conditions without considering the ameliorative effects of his medications (for the knee) and because the test results for the hearing loss were invalid due to inconsistencies.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ear hearing loss disability, Left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25107039
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 A25107039.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability but denied service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of his low back, right knee, and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The VA examinations were inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding flare-ups and functional loss/impairment.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on the need of regular aid and attendance due to his psychiatric symptoms.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability, finding that it is due to in-service hazardous noise exposure.
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