The Veteran's tinnitus and sleep apnea were not incurred or aggravated during service. The right ear hearing loss disability was not shown to be related to service, while the left ear hearing loss disability is currently manifested.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus, a right foot disability, a left foot disability, a left eye disability, and hypertension are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of noise exposure-related hearing impairment during service and the Veteran's current tinnitus and sleep apnea were not related to service.,There is insufficient evidence linking the Veteran’s current disabilities to his service, including lack of in-service diagnosis or treatment for these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, sleep apnea, right ear hearing loss disability, left ear hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19131368
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (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 19131368.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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