The Veteran's service connection claims for an ear condition and a respiratory condition are denied as the preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that these conditions began during or are otherwise related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not establish a link between the Veteran’s current diagnoses (including COPD, pulmonary emboli, and asthma) and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Ear Condition, Respiratory Condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19132163
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19132163.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an ear condition, finding that his current diagnosis of vestibular neuritis is related to a head injury sustained in service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for obstructive sleep apnea and a respiratory condition due to inadequate VA opinions regarding the etiology of his conditions, specifically whether they were caused or aggravated by service-connected disabilities. The Veteran will be provided with another VA examination to address these issues.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted a rating of 70 percent for PTSD and denied ratings in excess of 50 percent for OSA, IBS, and headaches. The Board also granted service connection for right elbow, left wrist, neck, and left leg shin splints conditions.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was dismissed due to an improper concurrent election, while the other issues were remanded for further development.
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