The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and denied an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric conditions. The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and alcohol use disorder with a 70% evaluation effective February 27, 2023, and increased the ratings for right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative arthritis to 30 percent and residuals of foot injury to 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was related to service or that his psychiatric conditions warranted a higher rating. However, the Board found that the Veteran met the criteria for service connection for generalized anxiety disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and alcohol use disorder with a 70% evaluation effective February 27, 2023, and increased the ratings for right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative arthritis to 30 percent and residuals of foot injury to 10 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Generalized anxiety disorder with persistent depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder (psychiatric conditions), Patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative arthritis of the left knee, Patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative arthritis of the right knee, Lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease (back conditions), Residuals of foot injury (left foot condition), Left lower extremity radiculopathy, secondary to service-connected back conditions
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25088254
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,820 · Granted: 26% (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 A25088254.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) do not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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