The Veteran's sleep apnea and left leg disability are not service-connected.,The Veteran's back, right knee, and left knee disabilities are not service-connected.,Bilateral hearing loss is service-connected, but the right foot disability remains unaddressed due to a duty-to-assist error.,Tinnitus is service-connected.
The deciding factor: Without current evidence of sleep apnea or left leg disability, and insufficient medical evidence linking these conditions to service, the claims are denied.,The Veteran's back, right knee, and left knee disabilities did not start during service or are otherwise related to service. The VA examination was inadequate as it incorrectly stated that the right foot was already service-connected.,Bilateral hearing loss is linked to noise exposure in service, but a new examination is needed for the right foot disability due to a duty-to-assist error.,Tinnitus is linked to noise exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, left leg disability, back disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 6, 2019
- Citation
- A19000797
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 A19000797.
What this means for you
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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 Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
- 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.
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