The Board has granted the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus and PTSD, but denied his claim for hypertension. The issues of entitlement to service connection for muscle aches, headaches, and coughing are being remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran had diagnosed PTSD related to combat exposure in Vietnam, which is sufficient evidence to establish service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). The tinnitus was also linked to noise exposure during service. However, there was no clear and convincing evidence provided by the VA examiner to refute the Veteran's lay testimony regarding his headaches, muscle aches, and coughing being related to his PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, tinnitus, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), muscle aches, headaches, coughing
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 14, 2017
- Citation
- 1739153
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 1739153.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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