The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection for sleep apnea syndrome. The Veteran's vision loss and/or blindness of the left eye was not caused or permanently worsened by his service-connected disabilities, and his occipital neuralgia with migraine headaches have not resulted in very frequent, completely prostrating and prolonged attacks that are productive of severe economic inadaptability.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence to suggest a link between the Veteran's left eye vision loss/blindness and his service-connected disabilities, including his occipital neuralgia with migraine headaches. The Veteran’s headaches were not very frequent, completely prostrating, or prolonged as required for a higher rating.
- 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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 23% (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 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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea syndrome, frequent falls and unbalance, headaches, right shoulder disability, back disability, left hip disability, and left knee disability. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during service or were linked to service.,VA examinations and etiology opinions found no link between the Veteran's current diagnoses of sleep apnea syndrome and frequent falls and unbalance with his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea syndrome, finding that new and relevant evidence supports this determination. The Veteran's current diagnosis of sleep apnea is linked to his active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's migraines and sleep apnea syndrome are currently rated at the maximum schedular disability rating of 50 percent.,An earlier effective date of March 18, 2020, is granted for the grant of service connection for migraines.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for anxiety and sleep apnea syndrome are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including examinations.
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