The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, residuals of a right eye injury, and a sleep disorder. The veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with stenosis, radiculopathy of each leg, PTSD, loss of the left great toenail, onychomycosis and tinea pedis, and COPD were not rated higher than their current levels.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a link between any of the claimed conditions and the veteran's period of active service. For the sleep disorder claim, there was no current diagnosis of a disability related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, residuals of a right eye injury, sleep disorder (secondary to back disability), degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with stenosis, radiculopathy of the right leg, radiculopathy of the left leg, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), loss of the left great toenail, onychomycosis and tinea pedis of the feet, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with chronic bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2008
- Citation
- 0815057
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (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 0815057.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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