The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied. The Board found no evidence of a current diagnosis of diabetes or glaucoma, and the left shoulder and neck disorders are not related to service.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient medical evidence to support the Veteran’s claims for service connection for diabetes, glaucoma, left shoulder disorder, and neck disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, schizophrenia, anxiety), Short-term memory loss, Sleep disorder (claimed as secondary to a psychiatric disorder), Sleep apnea (claimed as secondary to a psychiatric disorder), Gastrointestinal disorder (GI) (including acid reflux, heartburn and chest pain, claimed as secondary to an acquired psychiatric disorder), Diabetes, Glaucoma (secondary to diabetes), Left shoulder disorder, Neck disability, Headaches, Skin condition (claimed as burning and itching of the upper and lower extremities)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2015
- Citation
- 1552604
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 1552604.
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 denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Granted
The Veteran's OSA is granted as secondary to PTSD, but his headaches are denied due to lack of service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's headaches, which manifested as very frequent and prolonged attacks causing severe economic inadaptability, are granted a 50 percent disability rating for the entire period on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for a 30 percent disability rating for his service-connected headaches, which was awarded with a noncompensable rating at 0 percent. The Board is remanding the claim due to inadequate examination and the need for a new VA examination to evaluate the severity of the Veteran's headaches without considering the ameliorating effects of any medication.
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