The veteran's service connection claims for various disabilities are granted, with a 10 percent rating assigned for the upper gastrointestinal disability (GERD).
The deciding factor: Service connection is established for GERD as due to an undiagnosed illness.
- Claimed conditions
- hearing loss disability, earaches, skin disorder (tinea pedis, rash on both feet, and rash on the back of legs), eye disorders (including exophoria, glaucoma, blurred/double vision, diplopia, convergence insufficiency, increased cup to disc ratio, triplopia, presbyopia, eyeball throbbing, and myopia), respiratory disorder, sleep disorder (to include sleep apnea), neurological or psychiatric disability (including muscle weakness, loss of strength, neurogenic bladder, fatigue, headaches, anxiety reaction, hand and facial numbness, binary problems, memory loss/amnesia, insomnia, poor concentration, depression, learning abnormality, nightsweats, dizziness, dysthymic disorder, and speech pathology/impediment), cardiovascular disability (including pain or pressure in the chest, palpitations, hypertension, and tachycardia), genitourinary disability (including dysuria, dyspareunia, urinary or kidney problems, enlarged prostate, enlarged spleen, right lower quadrant pain, painful intercourse, increased nocturia, prostatitis, kidney infections, and small right varicocele), upper gastrointestinal disability (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- February 2, 2006
- Citation
- 0603053
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,464 · Granted: 14% (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 0603053.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraine headaches, as secondary to tinnitus, is granted. The claims for service connection for hearing loss disability and a disability manifested by shortness of breath other than chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis are denied. The claims for service connection for an intestinal disability (diverticulitis), fatigue, hypertension, neck disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, upper and lower back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right hip disability, left hip disability, right foot pain, left foot pain, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and an acquired psychiatric disorder are all denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for service connection must be remanded due to inadequate examinations and opinions. The Veteran's skin disorder, respiratory disorder, Crohn's disease, eye disorder, and migraines are all being reviewed again with new medical evaluations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The Board found the Veteran had a current hearing loss disability, PTSD, and right knee disability but remanded for further examination to determine their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a respiratory disorder, including COPD and emphysema, is being remanded due to the submission of new and relevant evidence. The Board finds that the evidence submitted tends to disprove a link between his current condition and active service.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.