The Board has granted service connection for headaches, but denied service connection for ear pain, right leg condition, right arm numbness, concussions, and hypertension. Headaches are presumed to have been incurred during the Veteran's period of active duty training (ACDUTRA) due to a pre-existing condition that was aggravated by in-service loud noise exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s headaches were clearly not aggravated beyond their natural progression by an in-service injury, event or illness. However, STRs and post-service records show complaints of headache during ACDUTRA, which then worsened due to continued exposure to loud noise without hearing protection.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, ear pain, right leg condition, right arm numbness, concussions, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19126314
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19126314.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
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