The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, residuals of arthroplasties of the right and left 5th toes, hypertension, a scar of the abdomen, and blood in the urine. The veteran's claims were based on presumed exposure to noise during active duty.
The deciding factor: There was no clear evidence that any of these conditions were incurred or aggravated by service due to lack of medical records showing their onset during service or post-service development not revealing a link between service and current disability.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, residuals of an arthroplasty of the right 5th toe, residuals of an arthroplasty of the left 5th toe, hypertension, scar of the abdomen, blood in the urine
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2004
- Citation
- 0417157
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 0417157.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
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