The Board granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus and left upper extremity radiculopathy, but denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, chronic sinusitis, left great toe ingrown toenail disability, right knee disability, left ankle disability, right ankle disability, and chronic fatigue syndrome. The Board also denied increased ratings for left shoulder strain, right shoulder degenerative arthritis, left knee anterior cruciate ligament tear, and acute intermittent tension.
The deciding factor: The evidence was in approximate balance regarding the Veteran's tinnitus claim, so the benefit of the doubt rule applied. However, there was not enough evidence to support a diagnosis of a bilateral hearing loss disability for VA purposes.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral tinnitus, Bilateral hearing loss disability, Left upper extremity radiculopathy, Chronic sinusitis, Left great toe ingrown toenail disability, Right knee disability, Left ankle disability, Right ankle disability, Chronic fatigue syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25085664
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (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 A25085664.
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.
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The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim for bilateral knee disabilities and his right and left knee scars have been granted. He is now rated at a combined 60% disability rating from June 1, 2018 based on bilateral factors for his bilateral knee disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disability, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and other disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation since December 29, 2020. Effective from that date, the Veteran is granted TDIU and SMC housebound.
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