The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection for ear popping, a sore throat, a sinus disability, and skin disabilities of the hands, lower lip, and scalp, as well as onychomycosis of the right great toenail and a left great toe disability were not supported by competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service or any in-service exposure to tear gas.
The deciding factor: The February 2005 VA examiners found that the veteran's various skin disabilities, including his hands, lower lip, and scalp, as well as his claimed ear popping, sore throat, and sinus disabilities, were unrelated to his military service, including any possible in-service exposure to tear gas.
- Claimed conditions
- ear popping, sore throat, sinus disability, skin disability of the hands, skin disability of the lower lip, skin disability of the scalp, onychomycosis of the right great toenail, left great toe disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2008
- Citation
- 0812390
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and a TDIU, as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these disabilities were related to the Veteran's military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for squamous cell cancer and denied the claims for an earlier effective date, service connection for implanted cardiac pacemaker, and several other conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded the claims for sinus disability, bilateral hip disability, right shoulder disability, hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, skin disability, back disability, bilateral neurological disability of the upper extremities, and bilateral neurological disability of the lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including left and right leg, hand, shoulder, sinus, respiratory, and eye conditions, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service.
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