The Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss is denied, but his claims for sleep apnea and GERD are granted. The Board also found that the Veteran meets the criteria for a 10% rating for GERD.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided an opinion supporting the grant of service connection for sleep apnea based on the Veteran's reported symptoms during service and confirmed by a sleep study. For GERD, the examiner noted no evidence of severe impairment warranting higher ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss, Obstructive sleep apnea, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- March 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19116043
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 19116043.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and conducting VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, chronic rhinitis, and obstructive sleep apnea. The headache claim was remanded for further examination.
- Partly granted
The appeal was denied for service connection of a cervical spine disorder, and several claims were remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
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