The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including DDD of the cervical and thoracolumbar spine, bilateral hearing loss, GERD, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, dermatitis, squamous cell skin cancer, CTS, upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, TBI, and migraine headaches. The Board found that there was no in-service injury or event supporting the claims for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The contemporaneous service records did not support the Veteran's descriptions of injuries sustained during the ammunition dump explosion in February 1967, nor did they show any treatment for the claimed conditions post-service. The medical opinions provided were based on inaccurate factual bases and therefore lacked probative value.
- Claimed conditions
- DDD of the cervical spine, DDD of the thoracolumbar spine, bilateral hearing loss, GERD, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, dermatitis, squamous cell skin cancer, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, TBI, migraine headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2018
- Citation
- 18116011
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 18116011.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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