The Board has determined that the veteran's gastro-esophageal reflux disorder, carpal tunnel syndrome and numbness in hands and arms, sleep disturbance (not due to psychiatric disability), headaches, and poor appetite and weight loss are all service-connected based on their association with undiagnosed illness experienced during her service in the Gulf War theater.
The deciding factor: The veteran's complaints of gastrointestinal issues, hand/arm pain, sleep disturbances, visual problems, and weight changes were attributed to conditions that developed or worsened due to her service in the Persian Gulf region, which is considered an environment associated with undiagnosed illness.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastro-esophageal reflux disorder, Carpal tunnel syndrome and/or disability manifested by numbness in the hands and arms, Sleep disturbance (not due to psychiatric disability), Refractive error, Blurred vision, Headaches, Poor appetite and weight loss
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2001
- Citation
- 0116229
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 0116229.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, headaches, a back disability, heart disability, and residuals of a stroke, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service or caused by his service-connected left ear disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for erectile dysfunction and remanded the claims for a sleep disorder and headaches to ensure proper development of evidence.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal in September 2025, stating that she is now 100% permanently and totally disabled effective April 29, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD with TBI and a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for headaches as secondary to PTSD with TBI due to a duty to assist error.
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