The Veteran's asthma claim is reopened and granted.,Obstructive sleep apnea, acquired psychiatric disorder (generalized anxiety disorder), bilateral hip condition, eye condition, and headache condition are all granted as secondary to service-connected pneumoconiosis.,Low back and neck conditions are denied.,A rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral SNHL is denied.,An effective date prior to November 15, 2013 for the grant of a 10 percent disability rating for bilateral SNHL and an effective date prior to November 15, 2013 for the grant of service connection for tinnitus are both denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether there is a causal link between the Veteran's diagnosed conditions and his service-connected pneumoconiosis.
- Claimed conditions
- asthma, obstructive sleep apnea, acquired psychiatric disorder (generalized anxiety disorder), low back condition, neck condition, bilateral hip condition, eye condition, headache condition
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19128666
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19128666.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
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