The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted in part. Service connection has been established for left shoulder condition, cervical spine condition (claimed as cervical spondylosis and stenosis), lumbar spinal stenosis, bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, peripheral vestibular disorder, dizziness, obstructive sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, headache condition, left upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, right upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, and service connection has been reopened for alcoholism and drug abuse. Other claims have been denied.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the Veteran's active duty service records and subsequent medical evidence that supports the grant of service connection for certain conditions and the reopening of previously denied claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Gulf War Syndrome, Left Shoulder Condition, Cervical Spine Condition (claimed as cervical spondylosis and stenosis), Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Bilateral Upper Extremity Radiculopathy (claimed as secondary to cervical spine spondylosis and stenosis and for Gulf War Veteran with unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness), Bilateral Lower Extremity Radiculopathy (claimed as secondary to lumbar spinal stenosis and for Gulf War Veteran with unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness), Peripheral Vestibular Disorder, Dizziness, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (secondary to service connected PTSD and bipolar II disorder), Dental Abscesses, Bone Condition (presumably secondary to Gulf War Syndrome), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Obstructive and Mixed Sleep Apnea (secondary to service connected PTSD and bipolar II disorder), Cardiovascular Disease (presumably secondary to service connected PTSD and bipolar II disorder), Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Headache Condition (secondary to service connected PTSD and bipolar II disorder), Left Upper Extremity Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (presumably secondary to Gulf War Syndrome), Right Upper Extremity Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (presumably secondary to Gulf War Syndrome)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19118681
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 19118681.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
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