The Veteran's appeal for sleep apnea syndrome was dismissed. The Veteran's claim for acute vision loss and/or blindness in the left eye is denied, as his condition is not related to his service-connected disabilities. His claim for a higher rating for occipital neuralgia with migraine headaches remains denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran’s left eye vision loss/blindness to his service-connected disability and concluded that there was no reasonable doubt in denying the claim. For the increased rating claim, the Board determined that the Veteran's headaches did not meet the criteria for a 50% rating as they were not very frequent, completely prostrating, and prolonged.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea syndrome, acute vision loss and/or blindness in the left eye, occipital neuralgia with migraine headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19102562
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for sleep apnea syndrome was dismissed due to concurrent elections, which are prohibited under the regulations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for anxiety, depression, PTSD, headaches (including migraines), and sleep apnea syndrome as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active duty.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic sinusitis, an increased rating for hypertension, a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis, and increased ratings for sleep apnea syndrome and seasonal dyshidrotic eczema.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea syndrome, finding that the evidence supports a causal relationship between the Veteran's obesity and his persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress, which in turn led to the development of sleep apnea.
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