The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left hip disability as secondary to right knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, right knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis (claimed as right knee injury in a fall), and left knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis (claimed as left knee chronic pain) are remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has not provided evidence of a current disability for the claimed conditions, and the VA examinations did not provide sufficient opinions regarding the etiology of his hearing loss or knee disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- left hip disability, bilateral hearing loss, right knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis, left knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26015766
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 A26015766.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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